Until Yesterday's Tomorrow
by Bellatrixbeauty
Summary: Cheshire is not a normal girl. Because she is what she is, not what she was, or will be. Because being two people is hard when there's only enough for one. Sequel to Everywhere is the Anywhere of Someone.
1. Chapter 1

**BB says: **At last! The long awaited sequel begins! I would like to thank all the fans who are returning from the prequel, _Everywhere is the Anywhere of Someone _and welcome all my new readers! _Salut et Merci! _Let's get this party started! Can I get a What-what?

**Rating: **Like its predecessor (that I strongly recommend you read before getting to this) my new story is Teen. Ya dig?

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor have I ever owned, Generator Rex or the works of Lewis Carroll.

"_It's a great huge game of chess that's being played-all over the world-if this is the world at all, you know. Oh, what fun it is!"_

_~Lewis Carroll_

He had been following her for quite some time, watching her appear and disappear based upon her own whimsy. Confident steps and a broad stride, the smile dispersed without prejudice and her cautious ally following at her heels. She would stop, they would stop, and gaze upon shop windows as any number of young women would, perhaps speaking of what they would buy if they possessed the fiscal requirements and where they would wear it and whether they should go in and attempt to try them on. Maybe some shoes too? Or a bag? When in Rome! Or France, as the case may be.

Their efforts to intermingle with a lesser race disturbed him. How they freely walked the streets and acted as though the vocal one's oddness wasn't earning them stares and the quiet one's lowered head wasn't a sign of past injury. Assume that they could ever be considered the same as they had been despite the knowledge that they were now so much more. Anger writhed in his gut at the thought, at the mere suggestion that they could ever think to be mediocre after being granted with such gifts. Moral prostitutes, spitting upon the name of evos as they gazed from their pedestals of paper and sand.

What made humans so great anyway? Why should they survive and force evos to run into extinction? Because that's all a cure was, really. A politically correct term for the elimination of the genetically differentiated. For though their bodies would survive, their spirits would once again be shackled by the chains of monotony. Humanity had reached the end of its run, dragging through the last morsels of their own survival and deterring the inevitable. It occurred in nature every day, the evolution of one organism into a greater, more efficient form. They were among the lucky first, those who would pave the way for the rest to follow. The more it was fought, the longer cowards attempted to stifle the flood, the more force would build behind the gates. They were all doomed to drown.

But he would save her. No! He would save _both of them._

"I really think it would look good on you. I wish we had a little more in the paycheck area. Did you hear White when I asked him? He was all like 'you are supplied with food and board. That _is _your pay.' The nerve of him. We risk our lives for windowless rooms and rubber mac and cheese." Cheshire huffed, turning away from the perfectly adorable dress she wanted to put Allison in. "The worst part is that I told him I hated it. So at this point I know he's just messing with me. What are the chances the European branch would have macaroni day too?"

Rue de Liberte, the shopping capital of Dijon, France, was bustling with life. Flags from different periods in the nation's history were twisted in a brisk wind, the sun just beginning its descent in the sky. People passed the two girls in casual comfort, too engrossed in their own conversations to notice the odd young woman snapping pictures at every opportunity and the strange mounds on her head were not quite normal. Unlike the fakes Allison wore upon her shimmering locks, Cheshire's pivoted at every new sound, every new face. But it went unnoticed. Most probably assumed the two girls, much too old for pretend and tea parties, were playing dress up.

Like many of the other tourists struggling to make themselves understood with the French masses, Cheshire and Allison had arrived for the International Gastronomy Fair, a chance to try dishes from all over the world. They had spent the morning wandering through booths and bumping elbows with foreign chefs, Cheshire charming many into granting them recipes and tastes. She had been particularly fond of the takoyaki booth from Japan; the chef had insisted upon a picture of the "cute girls with kitty ears." She was working on learned the Asian culture, but from the look on the man's face at her attempt, she may have insulted his mother.

"_Excusez moi, Mademoiselle! Voulez-vous acheter quelques fleurs? Les belles fleurs pour de belles filles, n'est pas?_(Excuse me, ladies! Would you like to buy some flowers? Beautiful flowers for beautiful girls, right?)" They turned, noticing for the first time a little flower cart to the side of the store. The woman was rather tall, glancing down at Cheshire and Allison with a gracious smile, pecan brown hair held back in a ponytail. Cheshire smile sheepishly behind her camera.

"_Très fâché, mon ami. Nous ne avons pas l'argent pour de fleurs aujourd'hui _(Sorry friend. We do not have money for flowers today)_. _The woman waved away her apology, still smiling jovially. "_Ah, non, non! C'est-"_ she was interrupted by a scream, a sigh escaping Cheshire as the all too familiar scene of fleeing people rushed by. It was her one of her many self-proclaimed days off, and she honestly didn't feel like wrestling a large and possibly smelly beast into submission. Nevertheless, she looped her prized possession around her neck at the surge in rampant nanites, looking to her friend with a subdued smile.

"You guys should go for cover. I can handle this. If I have to." The pale girl nodded, her face grim as she latched onto the stunned form of the flower woman and hauled her away with more strength than one would think she possessed. It didn't happen often, but Allison was used to hustling the shocked and the stupid away from her companion's potentially deadly foes. The woman on the street was not the largest person she had ever dragged away, and was far more willing to cooperate then those who panic and nearly trample her.

Cheshire made it to the center of the rushing crowd, close enough to see the cause of the disturbance, when she came up short in order to raise an incredulous brow. It seemed like a lot of fuss for nothing, a sense of disappointment entering Cheshire as she realized the monster to be contained was a toy dog. From what she could gather from the shredded remains of a pricey handbag and the tiara that was still tangled its matted hairs, it was once a prized and pampered pet brought from store to store with an owner who was just as spoiled.

In its evo form it was only as big as a large motorbike with soft looking green fur springing up where is had once been shaved. Paws the size of Cheshire's hands paced the ground, watching onlookers flee as its long body adjusted to its larger size. All in all, Cheshire wasn't impressed, having seen larger evos with the same basic build. What was perhaps the only feature that classified it as extraordinary was its head. Or, rather, heads. Because it had three.

"_C'est génial _(That's awesome)!" Cheshire crowed, watching the dog in fascination. It turned on her outburst, the lips on one of its mouths lifting in challenge as it focused on the one being that wasn't running. It winced at the flash from Cheshire's camera, the girl pointing at it with a waving finger. "Bet you're happy to be out of that bag, huh?" It continued growling, although the pacing halted a few steps away. "I think that's animal cruelty. What dog wants to be cooped up all day? You're creatures meant for fun and run!" A growl erupted from all three throats, synchronizing in discontent. Cheshire tilted her head to the side, allowing her camera to fall back to her neck. "Oh? You want to make up for lost time? You want," she grinned wider, cracking her knuckles "_á jouer avec moi_ (to play with me)?"

The canine evo made the first move, darting forward and snapping with the center head. Cheshire was barely faster, foot colliding with the gaping mouth as she performed a back spring into the air. The dog wasted no time in leaping after her, snapping at her toes from its stance on its hind legs. Cheshire pulled her upper body forward and placed her arms on its back, midsection dodging its teeth in order to pull her legs close behind. The evo's heads couldn't turn far enough to bite at the girl who was now sitting, backwards, on its spine and wrapping her fingers in its (soft!) fur. It surprised the unwanted rider as the formally inert tail wrapped around her waist, throwing her several feet away.

Cheshire landed roughly on her shoulder, hissing and rolling back to her feet. She stepped back and spun, losing a large patch of her jacket to the fangs of the beast and barely yanking her arms out of the way of a second mouth. A bike collided with the creature's side, pushing it back as the blonde evo regained her bearings. Three heads shook and swiveled back to the girl.

Cheshire let it come, forcing her legs to remain locked in position as it approached. At the last moment, when she could practically feel its breath on her face, she pivoted out of the way. With a solid, meaty clang, the wild evo ran into a light pole, the center head colliding roughly. Feet were slammed to the top of its flanking heads before recovery was possible, a wildly grinning girl pressing her advantage and once again leaping onto the back of the creature. Because honestly, this may have been her only chance to try and ride a dog.

The tail returned, only for her to grasp it in one hand. "Bad doggie!" With a mix of barks and yelps, the evo bucked and wriggled, trying to dislodge its blue eyed opponent. The heads swerved desperately, vainly trying to tear at what they couldn't reach. Cheshire held on with one hand, grinding her teeth stubbornly and keeping the tail from snatching itself free. She was thrown forward, smashing her face on the back of the middle head, but refused to let go despite her now bloody lip. It rolled over. Once. Twice. Crushing Cheshire beneath it and attempting to dislodge her. She bit her lip and closed her eyes.

After fifteen minutes of twisting and hopping, the evo began to tire, three heads panting and its barrel chest heaving with strain. The jumping stopped, its only movement shaky steps and low breaths. Cheshire released its limp tail, using her hand to pat it on the side fondly as her tongue worked the bust in her lip. "You're a fighter, huh?" The animal whimpered a bit, not reacting as Cheshire swung her body to the side and down, using her weight and powers to roll it over. Its belly exposed, she made her point. She was dominate.

By the time Providence arrived, a big show of hovercraft and firepower, Cheshire was well on her way to napping, the evo curled at her side with one head lifted as guard. They leaned on the side of a building together, with one of Cheshire's hands running through fur and her eyes drifting shut. The sound of lasers training on the two was high and disruptive, the canine hopping to its feet and growling loudly. Each head was facing a different direction, its large flank in Cheshire's face.

"Hey guys. Can I keep her?"

Hidden eyes narrowed as Providence approached, his body fading back into the shadows as their jets lowered upon the city. It was simple enough to stay out of sight when they were preoccupied with the large, wonderful creature they were targeting their guns upon. With a powerful, graceful body and incredible speed and prowess, it should've been a crime to attack the piece of art. The beautiful beast retained much of its shape, the nanites within choosing a more classical look to the animal's body type. He truly was tempted to save it, keep Providence from placing their filthy hands upon it and committing a crime against nature. They didn't appear to have their so called "secret weapon" among them, so he could only assume they came with the intent to destroy.

But then she stood in defense, lifting all parties five feet in the air and dropping them, painfully, before they could attack each other. Voices were raised, the guns retrained, and through it all, her face held passivity. The smile that she wore more often than not. An arm on the shoulders of her new companion spoke volumes.

This is mine now.

I will keep it.

No discussion.

He watched her lips pull back together to cover her snarl, grin accommodating conversation but body language daring anyone to come forward and state why she shouldn't. Why she couldn't keep what she'd so skillfully tamed.

The weapons were lowered.

And while he was quite taken with the powerful girl, he knew he had to report to his master.

It took a few days for the troops to become used to become used to the newest member of Providence. To overcome their primal fear of long fangs and razor blade claws pacing the halls at night. After much awkwardness and questioning it was deduced the evo was indeed female. And while the newly dubbed Berry (short for Cerberus, of course) was somewhat less than accommodating for those outside Cheshire, she was so passionately loved by the enthusiastic blonde no one could find the heart to point out her flaws. That the spoiled pooch from France was still a bit of a diva, demanding attention whenever she entered a room and, forgetting she was now quite the titan, leaping onto the laps of anyone who was unfortunate enough to be seated at the moment. Knocking into tables with surprising clumsiness and demanding to play fetch with Providence equipment.

At least she was house broken.

Cheshire didn't help. She was fond of braiding the monster's tangled hair and slept with her at the edge (and two thirds) of her bed. Rex's reaction when she brought the dog to visit was amusing, as he wasn't expecting his girlfriend to drop by with a three headed evo at her side. He jumped a mile in the air and landed on his backside, spilling his milkshake down the front of his shirt. He was back on his feet in less than a second, moving to protect her, but the young woman couldn't stop laughing enough to explain, at the moment. Because it had gone much better than she thought it would, Berry wagging her tail with slow uncertainty.

While Allison wasn't much of a dog person, she soon became used to the fact that Cheshire was going to keep the mutt, despite what anyone said. Including White. Who remained happily unaware of Berry's presence. Besides, one could not become friends with Cheshire without being forced to adopt a sort of…acceptance, to life.

"How are you doing this?" She roared, flipping the game board for the third time in so many hours. The pieces went scattering across the room, pawns dropped to the floor as a knight struck the unfortunate Berry on one of her heads. She slinked away, tucking her tail between her legs and moving to jump in Deloriano's lap as he watched football.

"You are too good at this! And you never played before I taught you?" Allison smiled bashfully, shaking her head. "I taught you today!" Allison scoffed a laugh, practice allowing her to ignore the pieces and board drifting back to the little table in the longue. A yelp was heard from Berry's victim. "Geez, Alice. Color me jealous." The game was nearly reset. "One more time." The dark blonde thought for a moment before shaking her head. She pointed to the canine crushing their comrade, the poor man's face turning blue. "I guess we could go for a walk. I heard the outback is lovely this time of year. Or maybe Tuscany?" Allison smiled and nodded, holding up two fingers. The second choice. "Italy it is! _Mue bueno _(very good)_!_"

Before the two could move for their shoes, before Cheshire could whistle for her dog and the final piece was on the board, the room was flooded with red lights. Cheshire jumped and lost concentration, knocking over the white king.

Cheshire's ears swiveled in agitation, the sirens much too loud for her. "The flip is going down, Deloriano?" The Providence private had leapt to his feet with a speed seconded only by Berry's removal from his lap. He was already heading for the door shouting over the alarms. "That's a Class 1 alert!" There was a barely audible note of panic in his voice, eyes hard and somewhat scared as they lit upon Cheshire.

"A what and a who now?" She had crammed her fingers into her ears, fighting the ringing by grinding her teeth. "I didn't go to boot camp!"

And then they were down the hall, surrounded by groups of rushing Providence troops, pulling on masks and checking weapons as two young women were hustled along. Chest to back, feet stepping over and onto each other as the crowd rushed to the hanger. Cheshire grabbed Allison's hand and held tight, frightened the smaller girl would trip and be trampled by the rushing crowd of soldiers. The light haired brunette was biting her lip and clinging to her friend, eyeing their chaotic surroundings wearily. They were only freed when Berry caught up, a natural girth that everyone granted her engulfing them and allowing their lungs to expand. With a fierce yank, Cheshire pulled Allison into a side room, followed by her loping dog.

"You stay here, _si?_" Cheshire tried to keep the trepidation from her voice as she addressed Allison, grinning with all she was worth. There was no point in worrying her. "Since you're a little very human and lacking the training of most soldiers, I can't drag you out there like usual. No worries though," the platinum blonde shined her winning smile, hand on bicep like one Rosie the Riveter "I can handle my own. Especially with Berry at my back."

The amount of progress Allison had made over time was nothing to frown at. Her therapist had only positive things to say these days and she no longer winced when Cheshire mentioned Van Kleiss. The day before she was seen wearing a sweater her grandmother had made for her, a picture of the reunited family hanging in her tiny room. She smiled more, laughed more, even subjected herself to Cheshire's so called dance lessons. The longer she was human, "normal", the more of the past girl seemed to be surfacing. Allison's mind was recovering.

So when she opened her mouth, attempting to say something, anything –be safe, be careful, this is bad, I can feel it- what came out was a high whine, an improvement from the silent rushing of air that had once been.

"This'll be easy! Just get ready for Italy. We'll be home in time for that walk." Cheshire had already turned towards the door, missing Allison extending her hand to stop her.

The world was spinning. On a massive pinwheel, around and around, Cheshire stuck in the middle with debris in her hair and blood in her eyes. She couldn't see, not really -buried deep in a recently collapsed building- but the darkness on the inside of her lids ignited with bursts of pain and light as she screwed her face, straining to free herself and protect the less powerful members of her division.

A whimper escaped but finally she wrenched herself free, ache flaring through her bruised body.

The lower the number was the worse the mess, a factor that should've been obvious from the level of man power Providence had thrown into the situation. Hardly five minutes had gone by, three hundred, twenty-seven seconds, and White was announcing that the North American division would also be joining in order to aid with evacuation. Which meant they were losing. Before they even arrived.

Cheshire hadn't registered the announcement, too busy swallowing her horror at the scene that was unfolding before her eyes, the smell that hit her miles before they even arrived on scene. A sudden tension in her heart that she couldn't shake, throbbing before they even came across the first flaming car. She recognized a strong scent in the air, for although she had never encountered such a thing before a primal part of her knew what it was.

Burning flesh. Burning _human _flesh.

Her stomach lurched although those in her cabin didn't seem to notice the odor as it perforated the air. She chose not to tell them, her tongue frozen and stiff with shock and dread. They didn't land, they _crashed_, a screech of metal and the shouts of men as they began to spiral out of the air, Cheshire the only reason most of them survived. Some had been disintegrated when the beam cut through the ship.

A path of wreckage and flame had been carved through the city, ash clogging the blood red sky and burning Cheshire's eyes. Many buildings were still on fire, others sagged in on themselves like defeated warriors. The young evo kicked a doll where in lay on the cracked ground, its owner some distance away with her head bashed in.

Level 1, huh?

What a flawed system, because there was no possible way for them to have been prepared for this. Not level to describe what they had been sent to face.

There were so many, fangs, claws, lightening and fire, it was impossible for this to have been a spontaneous attack. They were organized in their fighting, skilled in their blows and movements as they cut down the ranks of soldiers. It was obvious that they were engaging in total war, complete decimation of the city and its occupants regardless of age and gender. For this was not a battle. It was a _massacre._

Everything hurt _so bad_. Cheshire's body screamed for her to stop, begged for her to just stay down after what felt like an endless stream of wild evos lunging at her only to be struck down. She stopped seeing them as former humans, as _people, _as her exhaustion grew, too weak to hold back any longer and live. Many of the men who had arrived in her jet had died, regardless of her desperation in protecting them. There were simply too many opponents for them to take, and she couldn't be everywhere at once. But she had avenged them, in her own way. For every man taken from her unit, she had killed two evos. That was, she lamented, over two hundred bodies surrounding her, not counting those she had simply ripped apart, and the few of her men swept away by flying beasts.

A grunt escaped her cracked lips, tears in her aching eyes as a long, muscled tail lashed at her from behind. Anger drove her as it burst to dust, her heart heavy as she realized what she had done.

But she couldn't stop.

She _couldn't._

She was _going to die _if she _held back. _

She had to turn it off. She had to turn it off.

_Off with their heads!_

She yanked an evo back from where it sought to attack a survivor, a young man hiding under debris. The creature snarled at the disruption, unnaturally green eyes narrowed as a mouth opened wide enough to tear off Cheshire's arm. It was tackled by a bleeding, limping, Berry.

They were not going to win this.

The last of the soldiers formed a tight circle. The order to retreat had been given, but many of their aircraft had been destroyed, and there was no way in Hell Cheshire had the strength to teleport so many at once. And if she couldn't save them, she wouldn't save herself. They were being herded this point, several evos out of the mass deciding to have a little fun with Providence before ripping them apart.

An evo with scaled wings and eyes the size of saucers swooped from the sky, yanking up a screaming man. Although Cheshire quickly followed, it had already broken his neck and dropped him by the time she grabbed a wing and swung onto its back. She dug extended claws into the tender area surrounding its ear holes, the heels of her feet pressing on the joints linking wings to body and driving it into a spiral. They collided with the top of a wrecked office building, Cheshire snarling as she used the evo's body to skate and skid to a halt. She left the bloody mess behind as she once again joined her men.

They were not going to win this.

A burst of power from her fingertips decapitated an evo before it could finish off a soldier.

"Stay close to me!" Cheshire screamed to those who remained, their guns sputtering ther surrender. Her final attempt to protect, her trump card, blew up as larger than it had ever been, encasing everyone in a shield of epic proportions. She was at the last bit of her strength, the familiar pain shocking her body as she mercilessly forced her body to perform. Monsters knocked at the wall, curiosity turning into irritation when they realized their prey was beyond their reach.

At the moment.

Seeing that the enemy was kept at bay, Providence took a shaky breath, allowing their trembling limbs to show as they reloaded their weapons. Berry's heavy panting was the only sound, Cheshire carefully folding in on herself in order to meditate and prolong their defense.

Surely back up was on the way. Someone had to have noticed that they needed help. Someone-

It was like a knife was jammed into her back and twisted, a sharp gasp clenching her lungs together at the force. Her eye flew open, full of pained tears. Many of the evos attacking had pulled back, granting room for what could only have been a battering ram. He looked human, like a man that one would see on the streets, with shaggy brown hair and five o'clock shadow. His shirt was tattered and his pants ripped, but that may have only been the result of a rough life. Even his eyes, one of the first things to change with most evos, were a clear, and very human, brown.

The only mutation Cheshire could note were his larger than life _hands_, fingers curled to form two very powerful wrecking balls.

He smiled in a predatory way as he noticed Cheshire watching him with weary eyes, his movements slowing so that he could speak between blows.

"You must be Cheshire." Strike. The shield shook and Cheshire winced. His voice was also very normal.

"I've heard of you." Strike. Cheshire gasped out a sob, the troops around her raising their guns in preparation.

"You're so pretty!" Strike. Her eyes threatened to roll back into her skull as an illuminated crack arched through her wall.

"I'm gonna kill you." Strike. The crack expanded, the pain engulfing Cheshire's body refusing to allow her to repair it. A few soldiers muttered prayers in their respective languages.

"And wear your skin!"

With a scream of agony and defiance, Cheshire turned her shield inside out and changed the charge. It was like nothing she had ever done before, ever tried, her most dangerous attribute pushed and twisted to dangerous proportions. The heavy handed evo widened his eyes moments before he and several his companions were struck down, bursting into little more than dust as the crackling mass engulfed them and decimated their barest molecules.

The advancement of hostiles ceased their snarls and sneers silenced as they wondered at the fate of their comrades. A few stepped back, paws, claws, feet putting distant between them and the greater beast lurking before them, their weariness justly earned at Cheshire sized them up. She doubted she could do such a thing again without rebounding, but if they were afraid she would, why ruin the fear? She hissed through her teeth, and several jumped. There was a moment of limbo –evos still, Providence clenching their fingers on their triggers. It was as though the next shot would signal the second half of the battle- when the evos vanished in a very comical, very corny, puff of smoke.

What.

The.

Hell?

The blonde evo could barely keep her eyes open, but forced herself to stay as alert as possible, trying her hardest to ignore the startled looks her fellow soldiers were giving her.

Cheshire didn't really care. All she knew was that she had made it through this, with at least a few of her compatriots still alive. Although their appeared to be teleporting evos by the dozen lurking somewhere.

Folded ears twitched at the sound of a hover carrier, Berry sniffing her mistress' hair and whimpering as the girl finally collapsed.

She was in a hedge maze, green on either sides of her. She was alone, but this was good, because alone meant safe. There was no one there to fight, no one to hurt. Her dress was long and old fashioned, a large white sash tied at her lower back and matching the white ribbon in her white hair. Violet and lavender with feet made of mist and hands made of knives. Everything was silent, still, the sun hazy above her in a polka dot sky.

There were white roses lining her path, lovely little buds and flowers smiling genteelly and waving with petal hands. They spoke sweet words and riddles alike, and she couldn't help but grin back and approach them. Their smiles fell, the bushes shaking under a sudden that overcame them on the heels of their visitor . Clouds started to gather, deep black and angry, lightening limbs lurching as the first drip dropped. It landed on her upturned face, rolling beneath her eye and falling from her chin.

The clouds broke, a crimson torrent unleashed. She ran, attempting to shield herself from the drops that were dying her hair and painting her roses red. She couldn't see, she couldn't breathe, everything was spoiled. Voices were crying out her name, no, not her name! She's not that anymore! She didn't know these screams, these people, joined by newer cries of woe and pain. She found the end of the maze and rushed on, into the deep, dark, edge of the world.

It was a struggle to open her eyes, fighting the need to rest more. But her heart was still pounding with adrenaline, her mind unable to forget the feel and smell of war. Her screaming muscles tensed reflexively at the terrifying thought that she had fainted in the middle of battle. That she would wake to even more deaths. They were doomed without her; even with her aid they were being forced back! So if she had…if she was…

Ermanno, and Simone, and Alphonse, and Orlando. Were they all dead too?

Cheshire jerked and lashed out, throat constricted as she fought against invisible hands and arms. They held her tighter and breath appeared at her ear, gasping against her blows. A breathy whimper escaped her body and she lashed furiously. Her eyes finally opened, blurry images focusing.

"Ah!"

"Ow Cheshire. Geez," Rex didn't quite accomplish his tone of humor, eyes liquid amber as the girl in his lap finally realized who she had been scratching and punching. She tried to smile sweetly, but she couldn't, a shaking grin taking its place beneath her hooded eyes. They were in a jet, she realized, and a relatively empty one at that. The only other passenger was Berry. Bandages were wrapped through her fur. They were surrounded by other aircraft; she didn't have to see them to know that they were immersed in a group of their allies, beating a hasty retreat. Perhaps in the wake of one of a "glow in the dark" solution.

"The civilains?" Panic ran through Cheshire, and she once again attempted to escape her beau's embrace. Her voice was little more than a croak, aching from smoke and exertion. "It's okay! They're okay! Watch the face!" It wasn't like her weak flailing could do much damage anyway. The blonde evo's ears was still flickering in agitation, blue eyes darting as her smile twisted. "They're not okay. Not all of them. They're _not _okay, Rex." Her eyes burned but stayed dry and too wide to be sane. "It's my fault. I did this. I couldn't save them. They're not okay. _Not _okay. _Not okay. _Not okay." Rex wasn't quite sure what to say to her, his brow crinkled as she yanked herself up straighter so her cheek was touching his. He nuzzled it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear, pulling her closer. She didn't quite understand, watching her scraped fingers flex and bend as they came to rest on his shoulder. "It's _my _fault."

"No. No, it's not." Her brow wrinkled as she faced him. Their noses were touching as she burned her eyes deep into his. "Yes. It is." He sighed a bit, air rushing from his lips to hers. His eyes were frustrated, shimmer diminished in the wake of poorly hidden fear and anguish. Was she hurting him? What was he afraid of?

"No, _gatita _(kitten). No." She didn't break eye contact, teeth clacking together behind her pulled lips. _Please_ the lights in his eyes were dancing, begging _don't force yourself to hurt for this._

At times it felt like he was so young in comparison to her, a large child wrapping his arms about a little adult. That the world had cast its hand and aged Cheshire to the point of no redemption while Rex was still attempting to catch his breath from the race through adolescence. For though he looked to be older -a year perhaps. Or even two- there was so much Cheshire was afraid he would see. Would know. About her and everything else this world was. For though her discriminatory habit of only counting sunny hours had fueled so much of her life, that didn't mean the clouds upon the horizon were invisible to her. Didn't mean she didn't know what must be faced.

In a way, she supposed, it was up to her to educate him. Her and everyone else in his life. A young adult whose memory, save for basic functions, had only lasted him the past five years was practically a child. She wanted him to remain this sweet, innocent boy so badly. But knew he would grow up someday.

She was going to let him soothe her. Although she was absolutely certain that she could've done more –been faster, stronger, _better- _and she didn't want that belief to be squashed. She could find no reason for her not to be the one at fault, as she was easily the most powerful Providence agent on the field at that particular moment, and it was her unspoken duty to protect those below her. But she had failed, in the worst way possible, the taste of blood still fresh in her mouth as she brushed chapped against chapped in a brief touch.

She was tired. And sore. And so grateful to have woken up to him, of all people. Because he was warm and strong and trying to squeeze all her pain away. If only for his comfort, to make that look of sad anxiety in his eyes vanish, she would bury this inside like so many things. She wanted for this to convince her. More than life, death, and the little things in between.

Rex smiled softly as the girl unwound and kissed him gently. "Okay," it was an exhausted whisper as she buried her face in his neck. "Okay." His sigh vibrated against her cheek.

It wasn't over, she knew. The knowledge wracked her body with involuntary shakes, fingers clenching into Rex's back. Mistaking her discomfort for chills, Rex hummed in her ear and rubbed her back. She worked her arms beneath his jacket and closer to his body to share his warmth.

There was more to this, the tip of the totem, really.

_Nolens volens _(whether willing or unwilling).


	2. Chapter 2

**BB says: **This may take me a while to publish. I just got a new job, so I'm a bit distracted. Forgive! I have also started watching this anime called _Hetalia. _It is basically about the nations…PERSONIFIED! All (or most) of the nations are cute guys who get into trouble. It's so awesome! Go watch is now! WOOOO!

**Rating: **Teen

**Disclaimer: **I do not nor have I ever owned any part of Generator Rex. Or Lewis Carroll.

"_There is a place, like no place on earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger. Some say, to survive it, you need to be as mad as a hatter,"_

_~Lewis Carroll_

The sanctity of Abyssus was often over looked. A subtle stone in a river of dirt and debris, or perhaps even a star among a billion suns, this characteristic of the dead land fades in the wake of greater detail. What most would observe is rot and horror, the stench of decay heavy in the thick brown air where even the foliage suffers from the septic hatred permeating throughout. The land itself seemed detestable, odious, the beasts within holding fast to power born of blood and fury, eager to wet a thirst for chaos upon those wretched enough to wander through their web. Because this land was one of war mongers and mercenaries, twisted into different forms but maintaining their overall lust for unrefined destruction. A result of unjust power.

But.

Gazing upon the land from the view of one of these inhabitants, one of these turmoil seeking fiends, the hostile lands of muddy brown and bloody red were a sanctuary, where they could lie in an element that they sought all along. Where the strong survive and gain force through exploits befitting their selfish and sociopathic natures. It was the true, raw society that was the most valued aspect of animalistic lives, no longer imprisoned by the norms and faux pas of government driven civilization.

It was untouchable by the world surrounding it, through air or land, for the politics of the "developed countries" prevented an unsolicited invasion. And although Van Kleiss and his nasty attempt to disrupt the world conference had set most politicians firmly against his methods, they held fast to any excuse that would keep their soldiers from perishing in the forests of the deep. A man who commanded the earth itself could not be stopped by average guns and planes.

And so the ruler grinned. Powerful and ever growing in his strength, he relished in the folly of his enemies.

The greatness of his plan.

The perfection with which he manipulated.

He _deserved _this.

No.

_So much more._

The scene unfolding before him was amazingly beautiful. Not in the fact that it was battle –for, unlike his many minions in their various states of insanity, he prided himself on his cleanliness and logic. And war being the epitome of man's illogical nature, he refused to find any pleasure in the act- but the fact that this was his first call to the diplomats surrounding his little country. A country that, though small, was mighty, wiping armies from the landscape with but a thought. The time for silence was over, now was the time for action. And if only to protect his newly budding battalion of corruption, he only required a single piece more, a small addition that was going to make all the difference in the world once he had shown his hand.

His attentions were once again upon his loyal (and highly useful) monitor, an evo able to project scenes from around the world freely. His squadron as it advanced through the city, wiping the streets with civilian and law enforcement alike. A road paved in red and screams as they progressed, staying close and playing off their individual strengths as they had been instructed. It was all too easy.

Even when Providence made themselves known.

While a few of his lesser evos fell to their guns and knives, those more powerful, more resilient to pain and bullets, easy killed two of theirs for every one of his. They were going to lose this battle, as simple as destroying their aircraft and trapping them in the confines of wreckage.

His eyes drifted for a moment, mind figuring new, more complex theories to the domination of the world should this current scheme fail. He always had a backup. Always at the ready, should that point zero one percent return to destroy him.

Point zero one. Three figures. R-E-X.

By the time his eyes returned, the scene had settled on a target. Ah. His face twisted once again, a facsimile of a humored smile, the image of her fighting so desperately to protect her allies sparking a moment of amusement. Especially when she failed. She was quite incomplete, really, so much still impossible for her to grasp although it was all too obvious to him. The logical choice would've been to flee when confronted with such overwhelming forces, to, simply put, "save oneself". Turn and escape while the enemy was distracted with the task of cutting down allies. Wasn't that the bestial urge in every living thing? The nature of self-preservation was the sacrifice anything –an arm, an eye, an ally- for the continuation of one's existence. _Insects _processed this ideal more efficiently than the female evo, perhaps even _ameba._ He could see the defiance in her eyes, a refusal to flee in spite of what the consequences may be.

Her eyes flickered for a moment, seemingly to glare through his one way observation. He fancied the thought she could see him –although such a thing was impossible- and smiled wider to taunt her. The girl's faux response was to reduce a great beast to dust, a flick of her wrist that seemed to be kneejerk. Like it was nothing to her. Wasn't it though?

They weren't going to win this.

Battering on the final defense, eying the field with poorly concealed fascination as it rebounded and reduced his minions to…

Nothing.

Yes. He only needed one more piece.

Rex kept his arms tight around the girl in his lap, stroking her hair and listening to her even breaths as her quaking lessened. She wasn't sleeping, or even close to it, but was allowing him to lull her into calm. It was strange seeing Cheshire so distressed, someone who was so full of light and joy succumbing to mind numbing guilt and horror. It made him uneasy, to say the least.

He had been angry and worried and restless all at once, his certainty that she needed him spurring him on. His division had originally landed on the other side of the city, one that was overflowing with fleeing people and cars. Everyone wanted to leave but with no direction it was quickly turning into a mob of sorts. Already there had been cases of trampling and vehicles abandoned on the side of the road. They fled like they were being chased. Because they were.

"_Why _are we doing this again?" he asked, irritation evident in his voice. He was tired of being a living crosswalk, directing traffic from sidewalks and roads to keep the chaos at a minimum. "I should be bashing evos, not helping old ladies cross the street!"

Six had to agree. This smelled rotten. Sending Providence's top agents out for crowd control during a level one catastrophe was lunacy. While many from the European division had been dispatched, Cheshire included, a thought deep in Six's subconscious was relentless in its badgering. It was the same little voice that had recognized the look in White's eye, the nonchalance with which he released them to do the work of grunts knowing that bigger things needed to be taken care of. Something wasn't quite right, and no matter who he spun the idea in his head it refused to take the form of anything more than suspicious.

And then they attacked. Nipping at the heels of the last refugees, roaring and snarling with malice that was so hateful, spiteful, _human_, Six nearly froze for a trillionth of a second. Rex and Bobo leapt right in, as expected, sword and guns waving as they proceeded to attack the onslaught before it could get to the people. From the air and ground the monsters came, popping up from sewers and buildings, busting cement and ramming (thankfully) empty cars. And then he was certain. The number, the force. He could only imagine it was worse wherever their sister division was. The brunt of the force thoroughly distracted while his unit was merely scraping the bottom of an enormous barrel.

They were decoys. While the civilians were evacuated. _Decoys._

It was all too obvious when it occurred to Rex. Why he was kept from battle, why Cheshire's radio had gone dead. Six could see it settle into his eyes, a wild, frantic look that increased the strength of his blows and the speed of his attacks as it grew harder. The boy had gotten serious, attempting to end this as quickly as possible. It was almost painful for Six to watch, guilt for realizing this first and anger at needing to realize it at all. It was underhanded and dirty, one of the nastiest tricks in the military handbook whipped out without warning. He threw a katana with more force than necessary. Momentum carried it through a bench and into the evo beyond.

Son of a bitch. Son of an albino bitch.

For some reason, it didn't seem odd when all the evos vanished. Suddenly inexplicably, in a haze of smog. All that Six could register, fighting his way through the suddenly thick air and the shouts of confused soldiers, was a wild eyed boy and the sound of metal on metal as his jet pack appeared.

He didn't see Rex again until later, when they finally gathered themselves and rushed to meet their comrades deeper in the city. Twisted steel and flames abounded, a heavy smell of war and blood in the air the closer he got to their location. Many were injured, some worst then others, and Six's division was hard pressed to get everyone on a ship and back to base as soon as possible. While Rex seemed to be in a state of hysteria, an unconscious Cheshire in his arms, there was no way he could make it all the way back with his boogie pack. A boogie pack that couldn't even take form with the state of panic he was working himself into, appearing to be on the brink of swearing or hyperventilating or some hybrid of both.

And on the silent flight away from the mess, escaping the taste of war he had unknowingly granted his charge, Six used faux ignorance. He forced himself not to listen, dulled his sharp hearing in favor of granting them privacy. They thought they were being secretive, and he found himself strangely impressed with their knowledge of fraternization and the consequences of such things. For while there was not particular law forbidding two soldiers to enter a relationship, such a blatant display of weakness was frowned upon in most military establishments. He knew White would have more than enough comments to make on the situation, and hoped that the two would keep it quiet as long as possible. He wasn't sure just what would happen if the commander of Providence attempted to interfere with two teenagers discovering affection.

Ah, the horror.

Even if it meant sticking Bobo on a jet with Callan, Six would help them stay hidden.

They retreated to the closest Providence outpost, a secure location selected to lick their wounds and regroup. Failed missions, while fewer with their current manpower, were still a constant probability, lurking in the hearts and minds of the soldiers. The adrenaline of battle would wear off, and the sudden weight of what had occurred would settle around them. Those lucky enough to come out alive would remember what had been lost, _who _had been lost, everything that they could have done differently to ensure a more positive outcome. It became surreal, their minds so grateful that others had been there to witness because otherwise it would be too farfetched, too damaging for the brain to accept as truth.

So many. So much.

Despite her consent concerning her internal conflict, Cheshire found herself cowering in the shadow of Rex. Her legs were too weak to support her body and she wrapped an arm casually about his neck to keep herself steady. She was careful not to pull him too close. They had decided quite some time ago that allowing Providence to know of their relationship would cause more trouble than good; best to remain platonic friends in public. So she couldn't display just how much she needed to lean on him at the moment.

It was almost like punishment for her. The med bay of the small outpost was unused to so much activity at once and was overflowing with the injured and the dying, the stench of blood and bile and sterilization heavy in the air. Those who could be moved were in the process of being shipped to the European branch of Providence whose medical facilities were slightly more efficient, while doctors fought to stabilize others before more could slip away.

Cheshire spotted Six weaving through the crowd, his face and knuckles bruised, jacket torn, but otherwise no worse for wear. He had promised to fly them back to Cheshire's base once he had spoken with White, allowing Cheshire to keep her multi-headed dog aboard his ship in the meantime. While the blonde knew her pet was completely harmless, knowledge that extended the Rex and, somehow, Six, many other agents from the North American division wouldn't know that she was more puppy than threat. It would cause a great amount of confusion and hostility, especially after returning from a mission such as this.

The boy who carried her did so with ease, but she could feel his neck tensing as he ground his teeth at the scene surrounding them. There was a bruise just under his eye, and probably more injuries hidden by his clothes. But, like her, he would make a full recovery as his nanites sped the healing process and made their presence in the room rather unnecessary. They had only come so that Cheshire could commandeer some naproxen, a request that now seemed horribly selfish. What was her pathetic headache in comparison to a busted lung? A mauled face? A severed leg? Nothing.

"I want to go," her voice was a heavy whisper in the air, barely audible over the shouts and moans. She couldn't bring herself to care if anyone saw the intimate gesture, the way her arm tightened around his shoulders, pulling him near to her body as his hand tightened at her hip. Rex paused a moment, uncertain. "What about your headache?"

"I think it got bored and left." Rex swung her around and headed for the door. Their movements evolved the closer they got to the exit, her shaky footfalls vanishing as he lifted her into his arms. She laced her fingers behind his neck, burying her head beneath his chin. "How 'bout finding a nice, quiet corner? I want a cat nap."

Six was seriously sick of giant screens and the pale face that was constantly presented on them. It was probably unconscious, probably just coincidence, but he couldn't shake the feeling that White had them installed in every outpost just to be spiteful. To be sure that everyone knew who the big boss was and just how in charge he was. Six had known the man for years, before Providence, even before The Event, and it seemed like something he would do. He was set in his ways, stubborn to a point that even a mule could only dream about, and heaven forbid anyone ever challenge him on any point. It had been this way since he cast in his hat to be Providence's leader, although Six believed he had only won the position due to circumstance. It looked good to have the only nanite free human as the leader.

But now wasn't the time for such thoughts, a thin line of blood running down his throat from the gap in his teeth. It was a fake tooth –the real one was lost long ago in a fight with Dos- but it had still hurt to lose it. And the metallic taste in his mouth was slowly but surely wearing on his last nerve. And the look on White's face, one of misdirected fury, certainly wasn't helping the situation.

"Update." What did he _think_ happened? "We were forced to retreat." White scowled deeper, detecting the barely there note of spite in Six's voice. "And the evacuation?" Six narrowed his eyes behind his glasses, a bitter taste in his mouth. "Successful. Over eighty two percent of the population was moved to safety, the number of missing still in the hundreds."

"Is there something on your mind, agent?" So the man on screen had seen the slight twitch to Six's fingers as they fought the urge to ball. Because he knew damn well what was wrong, and the only reason he wanted Six to point it out was so that he could have the advantage. By not addressing it, White was stating that it didn't truly matter, that he was assured in his decision. The moment Six verbalized his discontent the White Knight of Providence would be prepared to slap him down.

But still.

"The plan initiated to deal with the situation was not the one discussed," the man in green kept his voice calm although flames were coming from behind his sunglasses. "Keeping your men in the dark could've severely retarded our efforts and _assuredly _cost us more casualties than originally planned. Sir."

"Really? Because in the scenario that you are indicating I would've lost countless more. Including the people of the city." White spoke with the same forced stillness as Six. "The evacuation would've been just as efficient without the assistance of Rex and I. Our efforts would've been more appreciated with the European division." _The ones sent to the slaughter_; the words tingled in the back of Six's throat as his lips tightened into a scowl. They mixed with his blood and became a creature of wrath.

"Focusing the majority of our efforts in such a limited area would've made it all the easier to counter our attack. It was more logical to place an equal amount of strength on two sides of the attack and corner our opponents."

"In _theory_. As it was the European branch took the brunt of the blow while we were left with the dregs. An unfair amount of pressure was placed on them. There was no possible way for them to have succeeded without considerable damage."

"The enemy was more powerful than originally anticipated," it was both an admission and not an admission "but that's a part of war. Once the soldiers were in place no possible escape routes were available. Their loses are distressing but I do not regret my decision."

"Their forces were decimated."

"Necessary loses for the greater good. Despite Evo X's promising…skills, she is replaceable compared to a possible cure." Six wasn't sure who had raised their voice first, been the first to snarl their words and clench their fists. They stood in silence a moment staring each other down until Six realized just how pointless this was. Because he, of all people, understood how cold in his logic White could be. And as much as he hated it, and despised himself for seeing the reasoning in White's decision, he knew the other was right. The solution to the nanite problem, which very probably lay in the body of a boy in sync with machines, was more important than a single girl. A single girl and hundreds of her comrades.

He hated it.

Because if Cheshire was just a _pawn, _if she had only been added to Providence as a crash dummy for Rex's more dangerous missions, then Six had to rethink his allegiance to his superior.

"They were organized," the agent spoke through his teeth, unfurling his fingers after an internal struggle "strategic. And so many at once. It was obviously an ambush." White folded his hands and leaned forward, deep frown still etched on his face. "Are you suggesting they were more than an unhappy consequence of that solar flare that went off last week?" Six chose to ignore the mockery in White's tone. Apparently it had created various spikes in the Earth's magnetism. Nanites responded accordingly, evos of various forms and size occurring in areas that had been relative cold spots in the past.

"Impossible. For so many to have been created in a single instance and to automatically be able to identify enemy forces is too great of a coincidence." If possible, and few people believed it was, White's lips formed an even thinner line. "So this was an attack. That is what you're suggesting." Six furrowed his brow. "No. It was a message."

The fact that Allison disregarded her normal character in favor of holding Cheshire close spoke volumes to the blonde evo, even if all she wanted was to collapse into bed and never get out. Everything ached, from the scratches on her face to the bruises on her body, there was an endless trail of echoing soreness that wouldn't end until she slept it off. Although she had attempted to do so the night before, falling asleep in a dark corner with Rex at her side, she hadn't gotten nearly enough rest before her green suited elven friend woke them up to take Rex back.

Cheshire, he said with a hint of remorse, was to wait there until further orders from White were given. Rex made to argue but the shaking fingers she pressed over his mouth made her point. It was okay. She honestly didn't want to go back to her base without what was left of her friends. Didn't want to face the smothering woe that was bound to be waiting. She barely remembered Six offering to drop Berry off, could scarcely recall her response although it must have been an agreement. She was really faded out of the conversation by this point; her eyes appeared to be absorbing the conversation but she was light years away.

She could tell White was surprised when he called for her and she was there to respond, as it had been much more likely that she would disobey and fade back to her room regardless of his orders. This battle was a disaster. Acknowledged. But it was just a _battle_. And though it was attrition by nature, civilian casualties were minimalized by their sacrifice. And the larger war had yet to be lost. So they were told, so they were expected to accept. It was in their training as soldiers, roll with loses and fight until legs and arms were sliced clean off. And then they were to bite their enemies' ankles.

Cheshire made a point to fade the second the final word escaped his thin, bitter lips.

She stumbled a bit in her dark room, all the weaker from her journey and limping to open her door. Berry had arrived before her and entered immediately, tail tucked between her legs as she curled into a ball on the rug. The poor thing was beat but no one had bothered to open Cheshire's door. Perhaps it was out of respect for the room's owner. But more likely it was because no one really cared at the moment. It was late, or perhaps it was early, Cheshire's body sensing the rising of the sun from behind her steel walls.

She was really good at forgetting. Or good at hiding. Or maybe some semblance of both. For though there was a deep pit in her heart she was able to leap across (deep not wide. A bottomless pin prick) with grace the fact remained that it was still there. Alive and thriving despite her immediate decision to move on.

She wanted, more than anything, for others to do the same, to heal themselves and keep walking like she thought she was prepared to do. Because if there was one lesson she had learned over and over until the white board was grey it was focusing on the past didn't change it. None of it. Nothing she did today could change what had happened. She could cry and scream and lament and it would only make her sick.

What would being sick do? Nothing.

She was extremely efficient in letting the past go. Hell, she had severed it _completely _before.

As a mercy to those who weren't like her, those who couldn't move on so easily, she didn't speak of it. Or anything. She was rarely seen wandering the European Branch anymore, although if called upon she would appear as though she had never left. It was just so hard for her to breathe in this body now, to walk the halls and feel the burning eyes of the dead. To know a few rooms in the barracks were emptied of their occupants.

But how could she not be this being anymore? This creature she had created long ago? She was rather fond of it by this point, and had no interest in undergoing another metamorphosis. She had folded her wings, stiffened them against the urge to fly away. Consequences were back in her life and she refused to subject herself or anyone else to those that would be created by her need to flee. Just because it was starting to hurt again and she couldn't talk about it because she was scared of what would be said.

If only _one. _It would take _one _to convince her of her guilt. And she would crumble. Like a card castle. A cookie. A flake's resolve.

And she couldn't chance that. It was bad enough she had rent a family in twain and walked away with a new skin. Unpunished. Wasn't she such a monster?

"Rex," it was their usual call, talking about nothing, leaving lose ends as they pleased. A week after and she had buried it completely, that bottomless pit that was a black hole. It sucked in light and deposited it somewhere else. Probably Analomink, PA. But no one had to know that. Cheshire was fine. Just fine. "Do you know what made the hatter mad?"

"What? What hatter?" Her question had come from out of the blue, their conversation originally being about a movie that had just been released in America. It was the latest in a trilogy that Cheshire was fond of, and she wanted to view the masterpiece on the largest screen possible. The only problem was that she had chosen White's large, intrusive monitor aboard the Keep, and although Rex thought it would be hilarious to see White's face after such a prank, the consequences would be too great. She wasn't even supposed to get on the Keep without permission, after all. So they began a mock argument that had continued until Cheshire's sudden question.

"_The _hatter, of course. _Alice's _hatter. Do you know what made him mad?" It was silent for a moment, the boy contemplating what could be meant by this seemingly simple question. Was she testing him? Was this another one of her moral ridden riddles? He had become accustomed to them now, and the way she would eagerly spring them onto his lap without a moment's hesitation. But he couldn't know all the answers, seeing as Cheshire put a great deal of effort into keeping him on his toes. Or perhaps it really wasn't an effort for her. Maybe it was a talent. "No," he spoke slowly, unsure of himself. "What made the hatter mad?"

"Hats. They used to be cured with mercury, which, in turn, was inhaled by the hatter. He was driven crazy by mercury poisoning, brains cells corrupting and dying as he was doing his life's work. Probably something he enjoyed doing, too. His duties literally drove him insane."


	3. Chapter 3

**BB says: **Another slow update! Yay! Ever since the school year started I've been lagging for obvious reasons. Maybe I'm trying to write too much…I do have like three stories in the works…plus I'm adopting another story soon. One of them may have to go on hiatus for a while (althoughI REALLY don't want to do that). In any case, new Generator Rex, new chapter. That's how it goes (I try. I really do y'all). So enjoy!

**Rating: **Teen

**Disclaimer: **I do not nor have I ever owned any part of _Generator Rex _(show or comic book) or the works of Lewis Carroll.

**BB says some more: **Does anyone else wish B.F.S stood for Big F*cking Sword? I mean, that sounds like something a teenage boy would name a weapon. I wonder if MOA censored it…

"_There comes a pause, for human strength will not endure to dance without cessation; and everyone must reach the point at length of absolute prostration,"_

~_Lewis Carroll_

She seemed more like a canine than a feline at times like this. Although cat lovers would claim their little angels could display just as much affection when excited, that it all depended on the way the animal had been reared, others would claim their precious pups were the more loving of the two species. And considering the young woman in question was a dog lover (despite her closer resemblance to the pointy eared meow makers) she chose to consider herself closer to the bold barkers at the moment.

Cheshire was ecstatic. It had been a month since Deloriano was granted temporary leave, visiting family like so many soldiers that had been involved in stressful missions. Young men and women who just needed a moment to catch their breath before being dumping right back into the fight were allowed a moment to gather themselves up. They would go home, or wherever, kiss their mummies, or whoever, and return bushy tailed and ready to defend the lives they had left behind.

It was found to be a good investment for Providence, as those who took a rest were more efficient in comparison to those who continued without repose. They were less likely to snap during missions, less likely to suffer shell shock, and less likely to freeze at crucial moments. It should have been obvious, really, just as the average office worker was expected to take a few days holiday every year in order to increase productivity. A rested mind was a refreshed mind.

When the young Italian had vanished without a word, Cheshire had feared the worst. She recalled seeing him return to the base, covered in blood that wasn't his and sporting a dull look in his usually candid eyes, but only became concerned when he failed to appear the next day. Her imagination bound and gagged her, dragging the girl through worst case scenarios and slamming her nose into the possibilities.

He had suffered some sort of slow working injury. A ruptured spleen and he would bleed out internally. A concussion and he would fade in his sleep. A terrible juju curse could turn him into a fly.

But then she found out he was merely on "vacation", as it were. And she took a breath.

True to the loyal simile formally put to use in order to describe her behavior, Cheshire patiently waited for him to return. So what if he didn't tell her? The therapist hired by Providence would be breeching his vow of confidentiality if he had told anyone of Deloriano's prescribed time off. The only reason Cheshire knew was due to rumor, and a tight lipped, best guess rumor at that.

She smiled and snapped a quick picture, wanted to capture this moment before she was noticed.

"_Ciao Deloriano _(hello Deloriano)!" The smile on her face was so warm it heated the room several degrees. Her lips pulled back in a bright show of innocent joy that could charm the pants off the devil and bring the sun out of hiding. Happy, happy, happy! So what if it was past her curfew? If she had stubbed her toe on her doorframe and spilled her tea? If Berry had eaten her owner's slippers and left the saliva stained remains on the girl's pillow? Today was a good day, a warm day; this certainty had kept a delighted grin on Cheshire's face.

And yet there was something heavy, an impermeable tension she was stumbling into without having the foresight to realize it.

So eager was the evo, so thrilled at the return of someone she considered a friend, she hadn't noticed the slight alteration in what used to be a charmingly bashful young man. The undertones of strain that wove through the air were vibrating from his skin, but the young woman stumbled on until she was too deep to step away.

But she saw it now and it was too late.

Cheshire had always loved Deloriano's eyes, the rare moments she had seen them. Soil brown below the wheat gold of his hair. Like all grunts, his tresses had been cropped close to his head and his face cleanly shaven (recently, as her nose picked up hints of aftershave). His arms curved as though shaped to hold a gun, his legs stretched and muscular beneath his civilian garb. He stood tall and proudly, his militant lifestyle providing a confidence that is hard to find anywhere else doing anything else. This she was used to; this was the young man she had befriended.

Not him. Not the man looking down at her with shallow distaste in muddy eyes, his lips pulled tight in a tan face. The hand on his duffle bag clenched to the point of paleness, his knees locked and his nostrils flaring. Those he had been speaking with, fellow soldiers who had also come to greet him, had fallen silent at the girl's approach.

"_Mi sei mancato_ (I missed you)," despite the sudden advance of dread in her chest the young woman refused to be swayed from her mission. She was going to give him a nice welcome back, maybe even a hug, because he was her friend and she wanted to see him smile. She wanted him to stumble and stutter when he spoke to her, to shyly accept her embrace. Blue eyes sparkled happily as she reached for him.

He shrank away so violently he nearly toppled into another soldier. Cheshire blinked, confused as her fingers flexed in the empty space between them. "Are you okay? You look sorta pale. Jet lag?" No response. She heard his teeth grinding and noticed the flex in his hand. Hard eyes sharpened as the young man turned on his heel to leave.

Cheshire let him make it to the hall before moving to follow, the same hand still out stretched and aching for contact. Whispers began behind her back, but she shut her mind to them, refusing to translate. "_Aspettarmi il mio amico_ (wait for me, my friend)!" If anything he walked faster, just short of running, as she cried out for him. What was going on? Why was he ignoring her?

Something told her not to follow. To go to her room and be left in confusion as the young man moved further and further away. She knew she shouldn't, knew it could end no way but badly, yet desperation blinded her for a brief moment. He was one of the people she had learned to keep, someone who would see her and acknowledge her and still _stay with her. _A member of her newly constructed family.

There had been pain in his eyes. And she wanted to fix it. _Needed _to fix it.

Deloriano halted; his feet were caught in an invisible trap just long enough for her to catch up. "Deloriano," it was seldom Cheshire's voice was serious, her mind creating linear thoughts. It was a moment when she cleared herself of all else except the present, the problem. No catchy songs stuck somewhere between her hippocampus and her spinal column, no twiddling of the fingers. An anxious brown hand brushed a leather jacket. "What's wron-"

She had never recognized what an efficient soldier he was. What a fined tuned machine Providence had managed to create out of a boy from a small Italian village. Cheshire could honestly see him going up in ranks, if for no other reason than his physical skill and spin-on-a-pin timing. Because he didn't hesitate, didn't hold back, as he spun them both and slammed her into the steel wall with an audible crack provided by her colliding skull.

The young evo was dizzy for a moment, the world still spinning as she registered the creation of a bruise and the tall young man pinning her down. Was he angry with her? What had she done? She blinked the tears of shock from her eyes, cocking her head to the side and bringing her hands to bunch in the sides of her cotton skirt. She had "borrowed" it from a truck in Milan, taking an identical, smaller version for her friend. The color of the ocean, the fabric complemented the emerald chips in Allison's eyes and the indigo in Cheshire's.

"Deloriano?" Her voice was pleading and cracking, so unsure it could break a frozen heart. The Providence agent didn't move.

"How?" His strained whisper finally met her folded ears and the appendages twitched in response. Ill-conceived happiness stemmed from the fact he was finally talking to her, and Cheshire allow the briefest hope to blossom.

"How?" The question was harder this time, and the slam that went with it drove away her short-lived relief. Cheshire saw stars. "How can you act like nothing happened? Like everything is fine?" The evo blinked; she couldn't quite understand what he was asking. Her usual cover, a smile, began to form uncertainly. "What do you-"

"_Zitto _(shut up)! Did their lives mean nothing to you? Is it so easy for you to shake off? They were _your_ friends too!" Cheshire's breath had frozen in her throat, a snowball that was growing to the point of pain. "Of course I-"

"You just flit around like all's fine! Like their blood isn't on _our _hands! Like we weren't even there when they were torn apart. You saw it too, right?" She didn't answer, too shocked and, to a lesser extent, concerned. He slammed her again. "_Right?_" Of course, of course, she saw it all too.

The blood that wasn't his was _someone's _after all, a young man named Samuel, or Sammy. Age twenty, Irish. Two sisters, both older. Mother died when he was young, father own a small farm on the outskirts of Dublin. Sammy loved the potatoes the old man grew there, claiming they were the best in the country and brining Cheshire a few when he returned from a visit.

A young woman named Maria. Age nineteen. Spanish. Only child of two dentists. Her favorite color was pink, although she would never admit to something as feminine as that. She had a gap in her teeth that somehow made her smiles seem all the more sincere.

Lance. Age twenty. English. One of four, two older brothers and a baby sister. His mother stayed at home, his father owned a small contracting company in London. His attitude was a bit odd putting, but he really was a charming boy when he tried. Cheshire would pat herself on the back whenever she earned a hidden chuckle.

Gabriel. Age Twenty-one. Spanish. One younger brother. Raised by his Aunt, a seamstress. He was a strong cat person, but Cheshire had seen him stroke Berry on numerous occasions, even offering the behemoth scraps from his dinner.

And Deloriano.

They were being cornered, and Cheshire made eye contact with the latter after downing a flying evo.

She tried to communicate, in that second, that she was on her way. She would save them.

But then she heard it. A cry, high and terrified and only picked up by her ears.

Cheshire had to choose, at that moment. Because there was also a civilian. She didn't know where he had come from, where he had been hiding, but the child screamed as his death approached. His mother (she supposed, because he was clinging) was dead but he wasn't moving from her side. He _wasn't moving. _Even as the large, fanged evo approached, wide mouth easily large enough to swallow the child whole, the young boy remained stubbornly still, only movement the jerking of his sobbing shoulders.

Cheshire changed course in order to snatch the boy up and roll. The large monstrosity roared in her general direction, stomping after the young woman who had stolen its meal. She turned and lashed with enough force to gouge out both of the bulging yellow eyes narrowed at her. The evo released a long, high pitched wail at the pain, falling to the ground behind her with massive paws brought to its face. Although she knew she would regret it later, the blood and dust covered young woman couldn't bring herself to kill the weeping beast.

Focusing, she sent the little boy far, far away. All the way to the Keep she had seen heading North. They would know what to do with him.

By the time she had turned back to her comrades, she was too late. Deloriano was the only one still alive, clinging to his gun and frozen in the blood of his friends. She couldn't see his eyes through his mask, decapitating the evo creeping up before it could finish him off.

"_Get close to me! Stay close to me!"_

"We could've saved them, _amico _(friend)," he spat the word like a curse "but you didn't. _You didn't._" But...but…the CHILD. Had he not seen? How could he have? He was being surrounded. Or maybe he did. Maybe there was a way to save them all and she had not seen it in time…

"No!" She finally forced a word out, tearing herself from the memory. "NO! I couldn't! I tried, I really, really tried! I just… I wasn't…" Cheshire couldn't think beyond the agony in her chest, the pressure building behind her eyes. Her mouth was frozen in the direct opposition of her usual smile, so that she wasn't sure she could ever experience joy again. She looked up at him beseechingly. "Deloriano…please believe me."

"Do you know _why _I took leave?" His whisper silenced her again. "Do you? Well?" She shook her head slowly, gently. Like a sudden movement would shatter her world. "I couldn't stand to look at you. I couldn't stand to hear your voice. Your mere presence reminded me of how blind I was, how _silly _thinking you would actually be there when we needed you to be. That we actually mattered to you."

He shook his head, bitter smile on his face as his eyes flickered away. He didn't release her, but he softened in a pained way. Defeated. "I didn't want to say these things to you, _bella _(beautiful). I was so sure I could avoid you forever because I knew that my words were nasty. _True_ and nasty. And despite my resentment of what I now see you are," a hand rose to touch Cheshire's face, her eyes wide and dazed as her mind shut down against emotional turmoil.

"I knew your eyes would break my heart," the young man choked and swallowed "I loved you so much, _bella._" And then he kissed her. Suddenly, harshly, enough to cause them both pain. The smashed remains of her brain wondered how he could look so broken when he had just devastated her so completely.

The girl was left alone in the silent hall, tears rolling down her face uninterrupted as she began to cave. Allison was with her grandparents for the weekend, Berry slumbering on the bed she shared with her master. It was rather late after all.

Cheshire was alone. Alone. Hurting. Like before. Just like before.

He didn't mean those nasty words; a merciful part of her mind spoke through the chaos. This was how he was choosing to deal with his survivor's guilt. She was sparing him mental distress by becoming his scapegoat. Deloriano wouldn't say those things in his right mind. Deloriano was kind and shy and gentle and…

That made her all the more wicked. To twist such a sweet person like she had, fail him so badly he had no choice but to lash and tear at her. She deserved to be punished. Hadn't she seen this coming all along? It was merely a matter of time until the others realized it too. If they hadn't already realized what she was, they would soon. Then they would all be like that. _Hurting her._

Cheshire's descent to the floor had gone completely unnoticed until a familiar Hispanic was kneeling before her. Blue eyes still trained on the ground, hands splayed uselessly at her sides, Cheshire tried to focus on what he was saying.

What was she doing?

Nothing.

What was the matter?

Nothing.

Was she hurt?

No.

Was she okay?

Yes.

No! No, no, no, no, no.

He was gently pulling her to her feet, concerned at her un-answers that hadn't been given and attempting to take her somewhere. Med-bay. His lab. Somewhere they could sit and he could try to figure her out. But the young woman's legs refused to support her and her eyes refused to look at him. She didn't want him to see the snapping ache in her gaze, the great misery that bounded in her body.

"Cheshire? Come on, _cariño _(my dear/sweetie. Used as endearment for unrelated children), we should get you out of the hall." Although he wasn't known for his ability to read the atmosphere around him or his skill regarding women, Cesar was smart enough to recognize a breakdown when he saw one. He didn't know much about Cheshire –the girl rarely spoke of her time outside of Providence and Rex didn't seem particularly fond of divulging what he knew- but it was enough to recognize the fact that his little brother openly cared for the girl.

Or secretly cared.

Whatever.

The fact remained that the female was practically family now, and her pain was his concern as much as any relative's.

Despite their disagreements regarding a certain experiment that shall never be brought up again.

The scientist wasn't sure if he was relieved or all the more concerned when he finally coaxed words from the girl.

"I'm sorry." And she vanished to parts unknown.

Hurting. Aching. Sore.

Cheshire watched her bare feet as she walked, ignoring the curious and weary gazes her appearance garnered. The sidewalk was warm, the afternoon sun gentle on her ears as they pressed flat to her head. She was trying to push it away again, shove it into the same closet with the rest of her hurt. Put it a vault and drown it in the sea, where it would dilute and dissolve and someday be found by scientists. Throw it into the fires of Pompeii or freeze it in the ninth circle of Hell. Rip it into harmless tatters.

The hole was full. Pain kept spilling out and thrusting itself into her face.

She could feel Rex nearby. And it was all she could do not to run to him.

She was a nice girl and Rex could honestly say she was perfect friend material. Fun, good sense of mischief and with her sister's good looks too? Damn. Any guy would be lucky to hang with her.

"Are you sure it's okay for you to be here? Won't White notice you're gone?" Rex shrugged, hand jerking and eyes wincing as his character suffered a fatal blow. It was only due to his extra life that he was re-spawned. "What could happen? It's been slow all week!"

Beverly Holiday was like a younger, more fun Dr. Holiday. Not to say that Rex didn't still find the doctor amazing, but when he had first met the younger woman it was like his eyes had been opened. Her regained humanity was a slap in the face as he realized, for the first time, that the triple PhD possessing scientist was out of his league. And, surprisingly, he didn't mind.

Six had had a claim on the woman from the start.

So when he had cured Beverly (Bev) and recognized the fact that she was a more age appropriate version of her gorgeous sister, his inner hormone-crazed-self gave a shout of joy. Here was a possible target for his affections, a goal that he could actually see accomplishing.

That's what it said in his journal, that's what he could foggily remember.

But then he saw Cheshire. No, he had known her for a while at that point. He really _saw _Cheshire.

And suddenly, other girls just didn't seem as great as they used to.

It would be too sick and too cliché to say that Rex could no longer tell when a girl was hot. And, like any other young man, he could still act like a moron when a pretty face walked by. But it was like there was a limit to the amount of stupid he could commit himself to, like he could no longer see going the extra mile for any woman other than his own. Their eyes weren't as clear or their lips as full or their minds as sharp. He doubted anyone else's neck could curve _just so_ when they looked at something they enjoyed or if they would make brief little noises when words weren't necessary.

There would never be another Cheshire.

"What about you? Doc's been a little crazy over that physics project you have coming up." Beverly winced, nailing a zombie in the head with a nail gun. She'd picked it up from the janitor's closet, a secret area only accessed by completing level seven with a score of over one thousand. They were now on level ten.

"Ugh. Don't remind me. Rebecca can't seem to understand that just because we share the same parents, doesn't mean we share the same interests. Anything less than an A is an insult, apparently and she's still peeved I spent precious study time looking for a prom dress. I mean, shouldn't a ninety-seven be a small price to pay for prom?" Rex chuckled in remembrance of past suffering. "At least she's not breathing down your neck as you study." A past lesson resurfaced, and he applauded the fact that he could remember so much without his notes. "And I thought the pretty ones never get asked to prom." He had muttered the remark, but Beverly heard it anyway.

"I…wasn't asked, actually."

"Oh." A bit of an awkward silence.

The young woman worked at the arcade part-time, earning a little pocket money and catching up on an adolescence she had almost missed as an evo. That included giggly friends, a massive concern for fashion, and the typical procrastination when it came to school work. And regular work, apparently. She was probably supposed to be working at the moment. But when Rex had walked in, bored and attempting to beat Zombie City (and majorly sucking at it) Bev just couldn't find it in her heart not to assist.

Besides, Rex was cool. He was cute and nice, His arrogance a warm quality that the girl couldn't help but be attracted to. Despite his apparent shirking of duties, he sincerely cared for his work and dedicated himself to healing all that could be cured. His face was the first thing she saw after becoming human again, a strange boy with a relieved smile and _amazingly _gorgeous eyes.

He was a shining beacon of hope for every evo who wanted to be cured.

Beverly Holiday was smitten.

And was sure he liked her too.

And that is why this young woman became an unwilling pawn in the hands of fate, accidentally accepting her place as a domino.

There he was, standing outside an arcade with a girl Cheshire had never seen before. That didn't matter. The only thing the evo could process was her coming sanctuary, the relief that would hopefully be obtained in a few short moments. Unseen on the other side of the road, the platinum blonde began to weave her way through the crowd. Most of those she passed either didn't notice or didn't care about her bare feet, stepping on her toes and sending her glares as she shoved past.

She wouldn't tell Rex exactly what had happened, exactly what had been said and what hadn't been. What she had done and what had been done to her. All she needed was to smile at him and him to smile back, to convince her that she was at most a quarter of the horrid creature that Deloriano was now convinced she was. Rex had that strange power to make her feel better; he could scare away her demons.

But then.

Cheshire froze in the middle of the road, ignoring the irritated grunts of pedestrians who were also trying to cross while the light permitted. She watched was the young woman's hands wrapped around Rex's neck, his back turned to his observing _novia _(girlfriend) as the unidentified girl pulled the boy into a kiss.

Rex pushed her away seconds later, after his shock had worn off, but it was too late. The damage was done and Cheshire was gone without having been noticed in the first place.

"What's wrong?" Beverly tried to read his face, but was inexperienced with such a thing. It wasn't offense, she was grateful for that, but it wasn't the excitement she wished for. He pushed her away further gently, taking a step back with guilt crossing his face.

"Bev," he said gently, and she dreaded the look of pity in his eyes. "I…let's not do that again, okay?" Embarrassment running high, the young woman steadied her stance with a slight scowl on her mouth. She thought…

"I thought you liked me," she was wounded, but refused to let him see her cry. Because she liked-_liked_ him and the only way this moment could get worse was if she started bawling on his shoes.

The young man scratched the back of his head, eyes darting away from the hurt girl in front of him. It wasn't her fault; he _did _like her, and really had been considering her to be girlfriend material. But that was before, and he couldn't think of how to put her down while not revealing the fact that he and Cheshire were an item. It would knock the secret right out of their whole being together. Surely Bev wouldn't blab about it to her sister and, even if she did, of course the Doc wouldn't go running to White Knight. But it still seemed like a betrayal in some way.

"I, uh, well you see…I think of you as a friend and I would hate to, you know, ruin that. I mean, if we decided to do more and it bombed, wouldn't that destroy our friendship?" Points for his quick thinking.

"No." Damn her and her Holiday brain. "We wouldn't fall apart because of something that dumb." Damn, damn, damn. And now he had to think of something else and it was getting really hard because she was looking him dead in the eyes and challenging him to deny her affections without igniting her anger. "I…" never in his life had he been so grateful for his radio to crackle to life. "Gotta take this," he pointed to his ear and rolled his eyes as though horribly disappointed. Beverly raised an eyebrow, not bothering to speak as she turned and dismissed him.

For the moment.

"Hey Cesar. What's up?" The young man wrinkled his brow, listening to his somewhat crazy older brother. Something in him squeezed in brief panic as he understood what the scientist was trying to say.

"What do you mean she's gone?"


	4. Chapter 4

**BB says: **I'm trying to make up for the fact it took me like a month to update by publishing this fast. And giving everyone in the audience a cookie.

**Rating: **Teen

**Disclaimer: **If only I could own something as awesome (profitable) as Generator Rex. Or even the works of Lewis Carroll. But I don't. So…_ja….._

"_It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place,"_

_~Lewis Carroll_

Bubbles exploded on the surface of a hidden pool, the waterfall above disguising the lesser of the disturbances with its own powerful ripples. The emerald branches of the trees above shook in a warming wind that gently caressed the collecting water and brought the scent of beasts and arbor. Creatures of the forest called to and fro, content in the weather of spring as they watched their young settle for the night.

The bubbles ceased.

A white wreath of hair ruptured the surface of calm seconds later, the young woman unperturbed by the breeze on her bare skin. It felt good to feel the open air on her face, letting her wet hair tickle her nose and her wrinkled fingers wade through the water. The subtle smells and sounds were an ever present reminder of humanity's absence as she bobbed contentedly, watching stars blink into life far above her head.

The long moments she spent hidden within the confines of Providence had spawned selective amnesia, and she had forgotten just how amazing it was to be alfresco; especially when held in the soothing embrace of springtime. Not too hot, not too cold, just perfect beneath the lovely shades of the trees and the whispers of the wind. The evo shivered, lifting her legs to float on her back.

Although goose bumps rose on her skin, Cheshire paid the discomfort no mind. She had been constantly freezing to death from the inside out for the past week and it was much worse than the cool of night could ever attest to. No amount of tea or blankets could help the encroaching chill; the girl was doomed to glaciate and suffer no matter where she went or what she wore. Drifting with her bare flesh revealed to the breeze was nothing compared to her own frostbitten chi.

Was it worse or better that she had left behind an old skin, one that held value to certain people she thought she possessed? What had Allison done when she returned and Cheshire's room was empty? And poor Berry needed to be fed and walked and…

All Cheshire could do was suffer another unconscious shiver, Deloriano's words and Rex's actions seeming to meld in her mind. Maybe she deserved this. It was likely she had made the wrong split-second decision that had failed Deloriano, but what did she do to avoid his embrace? She hadn't even fought when he claimed past affection for her and dug the daggers of his words deeper. She hadn't resisted him when he kissed her. Wasn't that infidelity as certain as day?

A peck for a peck, she was a hypocrite.

Even with this knowledge her mixture of emotion –pain, anger, self-pity- remained seated on her chest. It hadn't been mutual, the kiss she had been granted, while the tender moment she had witnessed Rex share with another could very well have been sincere.

That is to say, what if the male evo had found another girl? A _better _girl? One who wasn't odd or spontaneous or loud? One that didn't systematically collapse once a year or who could visit a doctor without a moment of hesitation? Someone _normal?_

Although she hadn't gotten a good look at the girl's face, Cheshire thought it was safe to assume the young woman was prettier than her.

The evo released a shaky sigh, half expecting it to fog as it drifted towards the heavens.

It was all too obvious Rex deserved someone better. Someone he didn't have to keep an eye on and who wouldn't drag the both of them into mutual danger. Who didn't wake him up to watch the sunrise and who didn't snort when they giggled. Someone he could have an open relationship with without fear of repercussion from his superior officer.

And that was why Cheshire left. Not just because the members of Providence were bound to notice what she was (bad kitty. BAD KITTY!), but because there was no way she could bare the look of pity she was bound to receive from her former beau.

Tell-tale signs; the aversion of his infinitely dark eyes, the worrying of his chapped lips, the uncertainty in his deep voice as he told her that they couldn't be together. That he had found someone new and perfect and amazing. Cheshire knew but she didn't want to know; hearing those words from his mouth would be unnecessarily painful for both parties. She was doing them both a favor. Everyone a favor!

Allison would still have her family.

The European Branch of Providence would take care of Berry (she hoped).

Rex could be…could be with…_her…_

The feeling within the evo girl was recognizable and the only known cure was to vanish into Wonderland. To once again stray from a path in a piteous attempt to escape. Perhaps this innovative fork in the road was what she needed, the final branch until she reached the sweetest peach ever eaten.

But who should she be? How far should she go? In the end all her flight had landed her in the same place, varied only by the different faces and places and explanations for denunciation.

Perhaps Cheshire could remain while the rest of the world faded? This was her second face. Did she really want a new one?

Bah. No.

She wouldn't change it.

But she would disappear.

All for the greater good.

Cheshire forced herself to smile. Because this truly wasn't her life to be concerned with. It was _theirs_. She now understood that she had been a catalyst of fate, introduced into the lives of others in order to better them and lead to bigger destinies. They would be fine without her, better than marvelous. She was no longer needed. The young woman barked a laugh into the darkened sky, a gorged moon shining back and glinting off her silvery hair.

Rex's face flashed and she shoved it away in irritation. His smiles weren't for her anymore.

Her miniscule grin survived her swim back to shore, heading for the folded clothes awaiting her. She didn't notice the sudden movement until her visitor was upon her, his nanites fierce and sudden and very active.

"And what has brought a smile to your face, _minette _(female kitten [French])?" Cheshire's head shot up as her hands jerked to cover her body. She was still several feet from her dress and sandals.

Ears swiveling and smile dangerous, the girl narrowed her eyes as the young man stepped closer. Hair the color of an ash tree absorbed the moonlight as dark eyes continued to watch her. Unhindered by Cheshire's sudden movements and obvious discomfort, he continued to speak. "_Excusez moi, minette _(excuse me, kitten). But you were so lovely in the moonlight I could hold myself back no longer. As one who has stumbled upon a goddess, my thoughts are limited to-"

"How appealing the fate of Actaeon was?" Cheshire hissed, interuppting. She refused to lower her hands and settled for slowly backing closer to her clothing. The boy laughed, large and boisterous while showing off his very white teeth. The young woman took the opportunity to dash to her dress and yank it over her head.

"Such sass! I like you more and more." Cheshire clacked her teeth ferally behind her grin. "Such an ass! I dislike you strongly." A tanned hand flew to the polo the male evo wore, fitting snuggly over his heart. "You wound me so! Is it such a crime to be stunned by beauty?"

"I do believe peeping is illegal, yes." She kept an eye on him, even whilst sliding her underwear under her skirt. He looked like any other person she would see on the street; casual khaki shorts and cotton blend shirt (that was either blue or black. It was hard to tell with so little light). But despite the fact that they seemed to be about the same age and he was smiling at her kindly, the hair on the back of Cheshire's neck stood up in warning. Her legs tensed as adrenaline was released through her system and she couldn't help the feeling that he was anything but a lost tourist.

"You should go away now, _pervers sexuel _(sexual pervert). I'm starting to remember how sickening I find your type."

"_Bien sur _(of course). I will be leaving quite soon, _minet-"_

"Shut-up!" Cheshire snapped, shocking both of them "don't call me that!" Her tail wiggled in agitation, her ears compressed. The peeper looked shocked at her outburst. He gave an incredulous little laugh. "Oh my. Was that a sore spot, _minette_?_" _He sounded out every syllybol of the word, trying to get a rise from the blonde. Cheshire's smile grew a slight curl. It took her a moment to respond past the lump in her throat.

_"Very funny, gatita."_

_ "What are you doing here gatita?"_

_ "It's not your fault, gatita."_

"Did your mother drop you on your head or do you just like hearing yourself talk?"

"You shouldn't speak to strangers so rudely. It's distasteful." The female evo growled in her throat. "Oh? I'm sorry. Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you want?" As though in anticipation of this moment, the youth before her dropped into a low bow. "Brigand the Brave at your service. As to what I seek, I'm afraid I am here to do what I do best," his sudden smirk, a twist of his handsome face, put Cheshire on edge. A familiar instablity appeared below her bare feet, the same but different from the cool ease of her usual method of travel. She felt like she was one fire, ants crawling over her body. She brought her hands to her arms, realising that she smelled smoke.

"Do forgive me, _minette._I act out of duty…and amusement." The girl couldn't respond as her body was engulfed.

"It's been five days, Agent Six. Care to tell me why Evo X isn't in custody?" Six felt his lips twitch in irritation, the motion unnoticed by anyone but Holiday.

"Cheshire's movements are undetectable by any of our censors. Sir. Without knowing at least an estimate of where she is going or where she has been, it's nearly impossible to pinpoint her location."

"It shouldn't be that difficult for _trained agents _to find two _untrained_ fugitives. One of which being an evo that was supposed to have had a tracker injected to prevent this from happening." Holiday frowned deeply. "Her nanites are highly aggressive and prevent us from locking onto the tracker's signal. It is likely the device was dismantled within minutes of being introduced to her system." The doctor actually found "chipping" the girl to be highly unethical and had never done so in the first place. But there was no need for White to know that.

Rebecca Holiday had always assumed that if Cheshire were to run, to vanish without a word, she would have a reason. And the only way to find her would be to discover the cause of her discomfort and mend it before she became unreachable.

Although the young evo seemed like a sensible girl, intelligent in her own abstract way, it was all too obvious that she could be…impulsive. If she were to accidently find herself involved with something that posed a danger to either her psyche or her physical being she would simply fold herself into her shell; a veneer shell, but one with surprising density and power. She would not be found if she didn't want to be.

Not long after they had discovered Cheshire missing the former Breach also vanished into the night. Her frantic grandparents and the agent who had been assigned to watch her, a grunt named Smith, were left clueless.

"She went to get some water," the young woman had sputtered "and then she was gone. I investigated the area, but she left no trace of her disappearance nor did she give any indication that she intended to leave."

There was no sign of a struggle within the small home, no prints, nothing broken. An empty glass sat on the countertop, along with what looked like cookie crumbs.

Where had Cheshire gone? And why did she take Allison? Dr. Holiday had been mulling over these questions from the start, and no answer seemed sufficient enough. If Cheshire was trying to get away, it seemed illogical that she would drag her friend with her. She had to know Allison was happy being reformed amongst her family, that her rate of recovery had sky rocketed since her weekend visits with her grandparents. There was no doubt in Holiday's mind that if Cheshire wanted to get away, she would leave the settled girl behind.

Why not take her pet evo? Although Holiday had not been able to travel to the European branch, Six had informed her of the green mammoth introduced as Berry. The minute they stepped off their jet the boisterous dog had lumbered forward and tackled Rex, three tongues working hard to coat his face.

Although the horse sized dog would have been like a beacon to her location, Cheshire had apparently cherished the beast, and if she had been intending to defect for good she would have taken this object of her affections. She was Berry's master, after all, and it wouldn't be half as difficult for the canine monstrosity to adjust as it would be for a mentally recovering Allison.

And yet the fact remained that both girls had vanished without a sound. Like a candle blowing out, the two had been swept away by the wind. Holiday frowned at the reappearance of the dead-end.

White spent the rest of the meeting frowning and fussing over the missing "Evo X", placing blame and threatening all in the room. Rex didn't even pretend to pay attention.

It was just so unlike Cee to venture off without a word. She should have come back by now, to tell him of her journeys and tease him (as necessary). She would never have left Berry by herself, she would never have abandoned her duties so carelessly. After so long with Providence, despite her rocky start, the girl had obviously come to care about what she did. Although it was difficult to tell where her true passions lie and what was simply Cheshire being Cheshire, Rex had the warm, comforting feeling that she was settled. Content. Even (dare he think it?) happy.

He wished he didn't know what he did know. How Cesar had found her just before she left for good. Slouching in the hall, dim eyes bleeding tears as she remained unresponsive. And the way his brother had described her demeanor, the limp way her body felt when her legs refused to support her.

Broken.

Brief anger flared through the Rex before morphing into anxiety. Why hadn't she come to him? What had happened to hurt her so much?

He had been eager to go to the European Branch, demanding to be a part of the team assigned to find the missing girls. They were supposed to question those who had been close to the young women, which had been very nearly every person who walked the halls. They were all willing to do anything they could to help find the two, the little lights that had once flickered through about the base. It was too quiet without the evo's animated voice, too empty without the presence of her silent companion.

One after another, soldiers, maintenance, and cafeteria workers all entered the interrogation room willingly and eagerly. Six's glare was unneeded as information was thrust upon them, granting insight into the lives of Cheshire and Allison that even Rex hadn't been privy to.

"_She loves the silly faces, no? Especially this one, see? Ah! She would spew her tea when I made this face!"_

"_Never had to ask Allison for anything. She would just know to help. Good heart. Likes mischief though."_

"_I would be dead if she hadn't caught me off that ladder! Why aren't we in charge of the search? They're our comrades!"_

Interview after interview, every one offering Rex another reason to be proud. Another reason to be fascinated. Another reason to miss Cheshire.

It took several hours, but they finally struck gold.

Rex had actually taken a break from hearing about all that he had lost, his dry throat demanding something carbonated and sugar-coated and very likely bad for him. Besides, sitting in a chair listening to a German guy rant about the misplaced power in the situation had given him a leg cramp.

On his way to the blessedly close cafeteria, the young man happened across a mumbled conversation. The participants had yet to notice his approach, their group consisting of four soldiers with their heads bowed together, but Rex was able to hear snatches of their sentences (at the least the parts that were English). He would have continued walking, ignored the strange group and their suspicious behavior, had his attention not been grabbed by a single word.

Cheshire.

Said with a very heavy accent, but her name all the same.

"Hey," he spun on his heel and ran back to the quickly silenced group "what did you say?" They looked hesitant to share with him what the topic was, their movements nervous. "I mean, do you guys know anything? I won't tell anyone, I promise. We just want to figure out what happened to Cheshire. If you know anything-"

"We do know of Cheshire," one of them spoke with an accent Rex decided was Italian. "Or, rather, we know of someone who does." At this point the man was interrupted by one of his friends. He responded with a snapped retort that was so sharp Rex wished he could understand more than two languages.

The first man to have any valid information (other than Cesar) told the long tale of Cheshire's last day. His friends seemed to relax as he spoke, and began adding points and events to holes the man accidentally left. Rex listened as hard as he could, trying to pry details from the story. The small stuff that Six had told him would be key in figuring out this whole mystery.

"How do you guys know all this?" The lead man smiled beneath his mask; Rex heard it when he said "she is kind of hard to miss, no? She is a, how it is said? Social butterfly?"

"And this guy, Deloriano? He was the last to see her?" The man sighed forlornly as he rubbed the back of his neck. One of the men in the group muttered to another in Italian. "I do not know. But the last time we saw her, she was chasing him down the hallway. And he was…not in a pleasant state of mind."

"He takes supper at this time," another man interrupted, perhaps to stop his friend from saying something damaging about whoever Deloriano was. "He sits near the drinks. You should talk to him." Rex smiled. "Thanks guys. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody I heard it from you." The young evo was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"Hey," the lead man said tensely "you will find her, yes? The evo, she saved my life. I have not yet returned the gift." Rex nodded solemnly, smile a bit smaller. "Yeah. 'Course I will."

He had to stop himself from sprinting to the mess, excited at the prospect of finally getting some insight into what had happened. _Don't worry,_ he sent telepathically, wishing Cee could hear him. _I'm coming for you._

Something was wrong. He could just…just _feel _it.

"Deloriano?" A single head jerked from his meal and Rex took a seat across from him. Smiling infectiously, the male evo extended a hand "'sup? I'm Rex." And was promptly left hanging.

No big deal. Maybe they didn't shake hands wherever the guy was from.

The man didn't look to be any more in a "pleasant state of mind" then he had been the day Cheshire vanished. His eyes were dull in a dangerous way, his mouth set in a skinny little line as he looked at the evo across from him. It was getting very hard for Rex to keep his smile (how does Cheshire do it?) when the guy finally spoke. "I know who you are, evo. What do you want?" Oh. Rex could totally see this going in a very nasty direction very fast.

"I heard you may have some info on a certain white haired girl. 'Bout this high, cat ears and a tail?" The man snorted. "Sorry. Haven't seen her."

"Well duh. She's missing. Wondering if you saw her before she vanished."

"Sorry, no."

"Are you sure? 'Cause-"

"Why does it matter? The girl is gone and that is that." Rex froze for a moment, telling himself that the man had not just granted Cheshire's disappearance a casual impression. "Um yeah," his chuckle sounded more forced then he intended it to be "it turns out she's a valuable asset to Providence. And really nice. We all miss her, don't we? I just need a bit of help finding her, so any info that you might have…" Rex trailed off, hoping Deloriano would fill in the blank. He didn't. Instead, a look of unpleasant realization crossed his face, a rather nasty smirk following closely behind it.

"_We _miss her? Or do _you _miss her? What, do you lov-"

"No," Rex said a bit too quickly, a bit too sharply. "And that has nothing to do with her disappearance." That sudden shift, from indifference to bitter made something about the man click in Rex's head.

Having been visited by Cheshire enough to have a vague concept of time zones, Rex would say Cesar had found the girl around 23:00 hours (in Ireland). According to the soldiers he had met in the hall, Deloriano had returned from leave an hour previous, just before running into Cheshire and the girl deciding to chase him.

Down the hall.

Rex narrowed his eyes, fury boiling as he fought to stay calm. For all he knew he could just be jumping to conclusions, an act that made him seem like an ass in more situations than he cared to admit to. He leaned forward, trying to lower the volume on their already private conversation.

"What happened in the hall, Deloriano?" The man's eyes widened and contracted, the smirk falling from his face. "It's none of your concern." Rex felt a tick appear at the corner of his mouth as he snarled, noting the look of apprehension that ran across the Providence soldier's face at the sound.

"You bastard," he ground through his teeth, subtlety be damned. "If you hurt her-"

"I didn't do anything she didn't deserve."

Rex was ashamed to say that it was at this moment that his vision went red.

To hear it told by witnesses, he had lunged across the table and tackled Deloriano. The two became a tangled mess of fists and legs as they rolled on the ground, each hissing insults in English and otherwise. Unsure of what to do and afraid of becoming caught in the violence, those closest to the brawl stood in awe, glued to the spot.

It wasn't until Agent Six made an appearance that the fight was put to an end, both parties ripped apart and forced away from one another.

Rex didn't come to until afterwards, his lip bloody and his eye throbbing as he continued to hurl insults at the man held back by his friends. The young hero was being dragged away by Six and struggling the whole time. Just one more punch, damn it, that's all he wanted! It appeared as though the Italian was thinking along the same tangent, as he lunged and tugged against his well-meaning allies.

"Evo beast! You should've left with your whore!"

"Come say that again _chingada madre _(mother fucker)! I'm not done kicking your ass!" At no point had he used his powers as an evo, and he could vaguely remember the _need _to break the guy's face with his own two hands. "Let me go Six! LET GO!" Exhibiting the strength provided from years of hard training, Six ignored the boy and continued to drag him away.

He couldn't allow Rex to sink to street fighting just because he was angry. The evo had been trained better than that; the agent had been personally involved in the young man's upbringing (as paternal as that sounded). He was disgusted by such behavior, especially when displayed by his young ward, and refused to allow it to continue.

The boy twisted from his caretaker's grip as soon as they were in the hall. He made no attempt to run back to his fight, but the way he paced suggested pent up aggression. Six ignored this in favor of expressing his own frustrations.

"Fighting soldiers is not what we are here to do, Rex. You know better than to let yourself be goaded into a brawl." Rex didn't allow himself to calm, even in the face of the agent's cool disapproval. It was obvious the older man was struggling not to start shouting but, then again, Six never shouted. His silence always spoke volumes.

The evo grit his teeth and growled, the taste of blood in his mouth reminding him of his fury. "He knows something, Six! He did something to her and that's why she left! _Pinche culero _(fucking asshole)!"

Six twitched at the young man's ability to curse in another language, a bit curious as to where he had learned it. Certainly not Cesar.

"Rex, you don't know-"

"Yes I do! He practically told me he was what drove her away!"

"What proof do you have Rex? There's nothing we can do without either a confession or a witness. The most he could be is a suspect and without evidence, he wouldn't remain as such for long." Rex _had_ witnesses. He just didn't have their faces (stupid Providence issued masks). Or names. And he imagined there were enough Italian agents running about that the chances of him finding the same guys again were pretty slim.

But.

"I do have proof! He was the last person to see her! And he hates evos! It's obvious-"

"Nothing is obvious, Rex!" Finally at his limit, Six snapped. Or what anyone who knew the stoic agent would consider snapping. "There are a lot of people who don't like evos, and even more who don't approve of evos working behind the largest anti-evo force in the world. But that's no reason to believe he is the cause of Cheshire's disappearance." Rex was silent, fire still leaping in his eyes and the bruise on his cheek aching.

Six released a silent sigh, wishing he could do this for his ward. If it was Holiday missing and someone was withholding information on her, he probably would have been the one in the middle of that fight. He would have grabbed the bastard by the ears and forced him to spill what he knew, no amount of torture being beyond his means. Hearing the driving force behind Rex's seemingly spontaneous aggression had allowed Six to begin the long process of forgiving the boy.

While also coming up with punishment, of course. Because no charge of his was going to fly off the handle like that without repercussions.

He wished that the man was as blatantly guilty to him as he was to the young evo. Apply the aforementioned torture in order to determine Cheshire's motives (and maybe teach the idiot a lesson) but he couldn't do that. He sincerely doubted that after getting into a physical altercation with one of his interrogators the man would be willing to participate. And that he would give accurate information. Speaking to him may actually complicate things in the twisted way only falsehoods could.

"Go cool off," he deadpanned, his only defense against his own inability to provide support for the boy. "Once you think you've got a handle on yourself, we'll see if he'd be willing to-"

"Forget it Six," Rex interrupted "just…forget it."

The young man couldn't help but feel that he had taken a leap forward.

Only to remain stagnant.

Cheshire woke up in someone's lap. It wasn't that the journey had knocked her unconscious –her constitution and familiarity with teleportation would have prevented such a thing- but it was the fact that she had been caught by surprise.

And promptly clipped on the side of the head upon arrival. She allowed herself an amused moment to imagine what would have happened if her kidnapper had been the one to appear instead of her. And then her headache throbbed viciously and she hissed.

The lap she was in was thin but soft, her face pressed to a flat stomach clothed in a cotton shirt. She could tell by the feel and smell of the person that her pillow was female and nervous, the legs beneath her head shaking slightly.

Opening her eyes, she gave a weak grin.

"Alice. Are you lost in Wonderland again?" The girl was tense; her responding smile was forced and determined to hide her own uncertainty. Filthy hair framed her face as she permitted her self-proclaimed best friend to climb into a sitting position.

Although the world spun for Cheshire the first shaky moments she was awake, she denied the sanctuary her eyes sought behind their lids. She knew she had to remain conscious for whatever danger was coming. As soon as depth perception returned in the dark, creepy room, she began absorbing her environment. Sapphire eyes darted about, taking note of just how cornered they were and the rather large, rather intimidating looking machine sitting behind her. She forced her balmy consciousness to sober, smile twisting and mutating until it was little more than a snarl on her russet face.

"Goodness me. What hole have we stumbled into?" Pale pink lips shivered, and if it had been any other girl, Cheshire would have thought tears would follow. She honestly didn't need to ask about their whereabouts, as the burnt red sky visible through the cracked ceiling spoke for itself. As did the furious nanites raging around them, a large mass of them standing just behind Allison.

Turning her head so fast the pain in her skull rebounded, the platinum blonde shot a hard glare at the man lurking in the shadows.

How cliché villain of him.

He hadn't been there long –certainly she would have felt his presence even comatose- but of course he was standing there with not a care in the world. Like he owned the place (he did) and it wasn't creepy sneaking up on an already irritated young woman who was feeling the desperate need to protect her friend. With his shocking streaks of white and superior smirk, Van Kleiss stole Cheshire's attention away from her surroundings.

"How nice of you to join us, Cheshire. Did you rest well?" The girl shrugged sarcastically, inching closer to her friend and reaching for the girl's hand. "Well, you know how the jet lag gets to me, Van. Although it is a comfort to wake up to familiar faces." The madman didn't bother showing her how disrespectful he found her tone, instead taking another step forward.

"You haven't changed a bit. That stubborn absurdity you hold so dear always did know how to liven a room." Familiar faces appeared in the group of evos along the edges of the room, enough to assure Cheshire that the Pack had expanded quite a bit. Her kidnapper made eye contact and winked. She made a rude gesture in response, clacking the fangs in her smile.

"As pleasant as seeing ya'll again is, I would really like to leave now. So if you excuse us-" Cheshire was ashamed to find that she wasn't quite alert as she thought she was. She hadn't even finished her sentence, hadn't even begun to finish her thought, when the vines burst forth. Her hand was ripped from Allison's, both girls uttering shocked cries and struggling against their bonds as they were forced apart. Either to unnerve her or the anger her, the feline evo was flipped upside down, long hair brushing the floor as Van Kleiss smiled in his oh-so-mighty way.

How she longed to tear that look right off his face.

The vine wrapped around her arm cracked and burst, and she would have destroyed the rest of her confines had a very pointy chuck of earth not positioned itself beside Allison's windpipe.

"That's enough of that, Cheshire. Let's be mature about this." Says the man holding her best friend hostage. Cheshire sneered at the irony. "Right, right, Van-van. Consider me fine cheese; super mature." Her hand clenched into a fist, the threat to Allison breaking apart only to be replaced by five just like it. Only this time one was pressed tight enough to choke the girl. Cheshire held still.

"That's better. I would prefer not to kill my once very loyal Pack member because you can't have a proper conversation." The female evo hissed in response, narrowing her eyes. Van Kleiss ignored her.

"You see, I've come to the glorious realization that you're more of an asset alive than dead. You hold a great deal of potential, Cheshire, and I would do anything to show you just how much you could become."

"Anything? That includes kidnapping, assault, and being bat-shit crazy, right?" Her commentary went ignored, save for the vines that tightened enough to bruise her ribcage. She didn't allow him the victory of hearing her moan in pain, biting her bottom lip and maintaining eye contact.

"Including, my darling little know nothing, the construction of the amazing device behind you. Are you familiar with the work of Dr. Moses?" Dr. Moses? Yes. Cheshire had heard of the guy from Rex. Some wacko who had been enslaving incurables. Turns out his invention was a steroid injection for any unfortunate evo placed inside.

Trepidation dragged itself through Cheshire's stomach, leaving clammy trails of dread.

"A marvelous machine that-"

"I know what it does." The nasty man smirked. "Of course you do. Well then, I suppose my predisposed speech is unnecessary?" The blood was beginning to rush to Cheshire's head. "Not quite," hard to talk with her head pounding like it was "there's a reason you're not letting me leave, I assume?"

"Oh? I though you knew everything." Ah. If only he would come close enough for her to spit on him like she did last time they met. She was about to say something –perhaps to beckon him closer- when her creeping prison reared back, swung her around, and launched her, headfirst, into Van Kleiss' new toy.

Her skull collided with the metal at the back of the chamber, stars flashing as the mechanical doors slid shut obediently. She staggered to her feet dizzily; her legs shook as she began pounding her fists on the walls and screaming so loud anyone would have thought she was dying.

Trapped?

In a room?

TRAPPED IN A ROOM!

Her shrieks continued even as the device roared to life, challenges and threats sounding suspiciously like begging and weeping. Fear was an ever-lasting cyclone in her heart, too all-encompassing for her to focus and save herself. She choked on her own vocal cords as her words corrupted and twisted, the machine altering her already chaotic genetic compound.

It physically hurt Allison to be there, to be forced to watch and listen to her friend suffering. She wished…how she wished. She wanted to be stronger, useful. She wanted to be another person, someone who could jump to the rescue of what was hers who had been nothing but then was something and was kind and who had gone out of her way to accept the former evo's eccentric nature.

She wanted to be Breach again. And she hated herself for it.

But not as much as she hated Van Kleiss. Because once again, he had taken what was hers.

The doors opened, mist and smoke mingling as a figure fell out, noticeably larger than the one who had entered.


	5. Chapter 5

**BB says: **The weather is finally cooling off around here! Although it's terribly misleading. Yesterday I wore short pants, today I need a sweater…

**Rating: **As teen as it's ever been. I don't think I could pull off M without giggling awkwardly.

**Disclaimer: **Shut up and read the chapter.

…

I don't own Generator Rex or the works of Lewis Carroll

**BB says some more: **I sorta liked Six from six years ago. He was…spicy XD. No to mention it was a clear foil for the fact that Rex literally only has like five/six years of his own memories. The amnesiac leading the amnesiac, lol.

"_How puzzling all these changes are! I'm never sure what I'm going to be, from one minute to another,"_

~_ Lewis Carroll, __Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_

It is rather difficult to surprise someone who was used to surprising others. The saying is that one cannot kid a kidder, play a player, or stoop lower than the low. And when this thought is occurring, it is usually the byproduct of an attempt to commit one of the aforementioned acts. If luck is present and perseverance her lover there is bound to be magic, and perhaps then it is possible to stop that dreaded kidder, player, or lowlife from continuing their lives as the best of the worst. Then it is possible to take their place on the rungs of victory, a paper crown on one's head and a scepter of nonsense.

It was hard to surprise Cheshire. Or whatever she was now.

Because she had known what the machine would do once activated, once an evowas placed inside, and she wasn't surprised to have changed. To have been twisted and forced from a body she was only just becoming used to, to have to quite literally start over from scratch.

The pain didn't surprise her. It wasn't so long ago that she awoke to pain every day, shedding an old skin in favor of a more malleable one. A body that was too wrong to be comprehended; for what could come of an unnatural chimera comprised of monster and girl? The process by which she had mutated had been _agonizing_, and the pain that was facing her now could easily be dismissed as growing pains in comparison.

The vertigo was laughable; she had felt much worst.

What surprised her, as she sprawled on the floor and waited to open her new eyes, was Van Kleiss' reaction to her sudden, wrathful outburst. Because though her body was twitching with aftershock and what was left of her mind was recoiling from reality, she still felt enough fury, enough directed rage that it collected itself within her and she, with the vengeful logic of a child on the playground, smashed Van's new toy. To itty, bitty bits. It was quite easy, actually, perhaps attributed to her new strength and fierce, anger-driven, power. The squealing of metal and the roars of the wild evos were all too pleasing for her as the decimated pieces of machinery showered upon all in the room. No other would be placed within. Ever.

But among the din, she heard laughter. Maniacal that seemed all too happy she had caused a large scene of destruction and chaos. Amused that she thought her tantrum was relevant, blatantly belittling her sense of vengeance and rage.

The noise was frustrating and startling and infuriating and...and…

_Wanted to kill him, tear out his throat and watch his life's blood drain to the dirt of his filthy kingdom. Rip open his belly and allow his entrails to hang from the ruined walls. Snatch out his spine…gouge out his eyes…_

A snarl lifted the corner of her lip.

It was getting hard for her mind to remain coherent. It seemed anxious to slip into some sort of animalistic chaos, attempting to yield to its newer shell. Thoughts that haunted the most cruel corners of a predator's mind were suddenly present in an intellectual brain and her consciousness was struggling to adjust. Perhaps she was to be devoured?

The evo wanted to laugh bitterly; as if it would be that easy! She wasn't one to be changed unless she willed it, and she had every intention of grasping the threadbare remains of Cheshire was until a solution could be found.

She chuckled, a low, grinding sound that made the weaker evo leading her to her quarters gaze at her in…fear? She couldn't see it, per say, but felt it as though feeling the vibrations of the world. Its every breath, its heartbeat, its footsteps, the activity of its nanites; all combined to make a colorless shape before her, telling her sightless eyes its size and shape and where it was.

A brief picture startled her as it flashed through her mind. A snapshot of what the shorter evo was seeing, she realized. Her mind making up for its blindness?

The evo in the picture was tall, six or seven feet. It was not standing as much as it was hanging; the tatters of a dirty sundress hung from its coal black body and long, ethereal white hair hung from its hung head. Its hands were gnarled but slender, extending and retracting claws thoughtlessly as fingers played with fingers in front of a flat chest and the arched belly of a jungle beast. Legs bending like an animal's with the joints facing backwards and leading to feet with the same tipped edges as the fingers. But more bestial, it would appear.

Its face –_her _face- explained quite a bit. She could feel the pointed teeth shown off in the monster's fanged grin, feel the two slits used as nostrils flare when bombarded with new smells. Eyes open but blank. No pupils. No sight. Although tendrils (whiskers?) descended to the ground from her upper lip. Assumedly, they were providing an "image" of her surroundings. Whiskers indeed.

She had a mustache. The nightmare of every woman. Her rough voice laughed. "Do you fear me?" A voice she hardly recognized, almost too strange to identify the syllables, came from her throat. It sounded like the voice of the monster in the closet.

The shorter evo cringed and she could feel its heart stop. Her longer tail flicked harder then she intended and caught the smaller beast like a whip. The creature made a little pained noise. "Sorry. Didn't mean to take my pissy mood out on you."

Alice was somewhere in the castle. Unharmed like any good hostage but surrounded by a sea of raging nano machines that may or may not have been merely Van Kleiss' soil.

"So they're gone. Just like that?"

"That's what I said." The two boys honestly didn't feel like shooting hoops. Or doing much of anything, really. Rex felt like he was living a life in mud, thick, gooey, nasty mud that couldn't be washed off and wouldn't leave him alone. It was a fight to go about his day without thinking about her. It seemed she was ingrained in everything he said and did and thought. But if he let himself fall into that hole of "what-if", the terrible abyss of what must have, _could_ have happened to her, he wouldn't be able to surface. His nanites would be unresponsive for hours, his brain not much better.

Because he couldn't help the desperate feeling that she needed him _so badly _and he couldn't even begin to be there for her. A part of him wanted to talk to Noah about it, about how and when Cheshire vanished, what he feared had happened between the young female evo and the stubborn Deloriano. The bastard was so lucky that Rex couldn't teleport like Cheshire or he would have gone back to kick the Italian's ass even after running the laps that were his punishment.

Another part of Rex wasn't sure he wanted to concern his blonde friend, concerned that, although he believed he had thought of every possible circumstance (even the worst of the worst of the worst which kept him up at night) there was still a chance that Noah could come up with something he had yet to think of. Even trying to help. And then where would they be? Misery loves company but Rex was so tired of being wretched. And from the look on Noah's face, the other boy was thinking somewhere along the same lines. It had been a mistake to bring the main causes of their pain into this day; a day when they were trying to take a breath.

Noah knew he was wandering into dangerous territory by questioning his best friend. He had known Rex long enough to recognize the miniscule wince between his eyes, the sharpening of his mouth and the twitch of his fingers. Too much pressure and the young evo would explode upon all in the area, his anger misdirected and awkward and altogether too injured. But Noah had to know. He had to know because Cheshire was his friend too. And because Allison was…Allison.

What could he say? She was cute.

And thanks to a certain blonde haired evo, he was seeing a lot more of her. Enough of her to call them…boyfriend and girlfriend, maybe. Not that he had asked the quiet girl what she thought on the issue, but they had kissed. And snuggled. Rex said they were dating as much as he and Cheshire were dating, in that strange distant way. So he had also lost someone he strongly cared for in recent weeks, was also suffering sleepless nights and the odd, suffocating weight on his chest.

And damn it, he wanted to know what Rex knew on the issue. It was only right.

"There's nothing you guys can do? I mean, you're Providence! You're everywhere! There must be something for you to go on. A hair. An eyelash…anything?" Rex shook his head. Noah rubbed his face in frustration, refusing to look at his friend.

"I just…I don't see why she would take Allison. She didn't _have _to. I don't know if Allison would even want to go!" He clenched his teeth. "And what about Berry? It doesn't add up. She had no reason…I mean, that's not something she would do." Rex nodded as Noah fell silent, swirling his smoothie. "We know. But we've looked at it from every possible angle. And the more we look, the worse it gets."

"It gets worse?" Rex hesitated. "Yeah. There was a bus ticket bought with Allison's emergency credit card. One back to North Dakota."

"So?"

"Well, when we asked her grandparents about it, they went all quiet. Said that was where their estranged daughter –Allison's mom- lives now. Her brain is fried; can't remember her daughter, her parents, nothing. But Allison wanted to see her," Rex sighed, gazing up at the sky. Usually Providence had caught up to him by now, considering he was barely an hour away. Or maybe they weren't even trying to find him.

"She was going to see her mom, Noah," he whispered "she was going to see her mom. There's no way she would have run away with Cheshire then. There's no way Cheshire would ruin her best friend's chance to reconnect with her mother." Noah ran his hand through his hair, biting his lip.

"So they were separated?"

"Guess so. We checked security cams. Allison never got on the bus." Rex remembered the stringy girl stepping out of her cab, movements jerky and nervous as she paid the man with the cash that she had swiped from her Nana's purse. Gave a nod of thanks. The cab drove away, leaving her alone in the parking lot of the dark bus station. It was the last bus of the evening, running at 22:00, and she was ten minutes early. She only had a small bag in her possession, one that she could have easily hidden from her Providence bodyguard upon sneaking out. The cameras cut away for a split moment. And she was gone without a trace.

Two girls.

Two separate disappearances.

One very lost military establishment.

Mischievous though she was, Cheshire left a sign as sure as a fingerprint, the ion spike that Holiday claimed would exist for at least forty-eight hours after the blonde evo teleported. Whatever had happened to Allison Bell, Cheshire had nothing to do with it. It appeared as though a third party was pulling the strings. Everyone's thoughts wandered to the same, grim conclusion.

It had finally happened.

They had all known it would and, though they would never acknowledge it aloud, they all feared it in varying degrees.

Someone had noticed Cheshire's destructive potential. And Allison was being dragged along for the ride.

"So what now?" Noah broke through Rex's thoughts, and the evo realized he had been staring into space. He sighed and purposely tipped his drink, watching the thick rosette viscosity ooze into cracks on the pavement. He wasn't sure why he had wanted it in the first place. "I guess I-" something occurred to him, something that made him leap to his feet with his eyes wider than they'd been in weeks.

"What-"

"Hey White," Rex interrupted Noah, not out of spite, but in order to call in to base. His sudden idea had his him so fast and hard he was forced to act immediately out of the fear it would be gone as soon as it had appeared. As though realizing his friend was on the brink of an epiphany, Noah silenced himself.

"Rex? Where are you?" White's voice was scolding but it lacked any heat. Maybe he was bored with the whole runaway thing. "I didn't authorize-"

"Do we still have that video? The one where Allison disappears?"

"Why?" Rex made eye contact with the blonde next to him, eyes ablaze. "I think I know where they are."

Noah insisted on joining Rex back at base, wanting to see just what was so important that Rex called White up. Admittedly, White's channel was probably really easy to get into when one worked for Providence, but Rex didn't call the man just to shoot the breeze. It had something to do with why they were playing Allison's disappearance again and again, Noah's fingers twitching every time the screen flipped forward to an empty parking lot. His blue eyes were wide as though observing a train wreck, something terrible and heartbreaking and just too awful to look away. He wanted to walk out. Wanted to go back to his room and turn off the lights and just shut down for a while. But he couldn't do that.

There had to be _something, _some reason Rex had them watching the biggest screen the base had to offer. The same span of ten seconds again, and again, and again.

_There._

"Stop!" Rex hadn't meant to yell, but a combination of excitement at his discovery and victory over his own doubts escalated his voice. "Zoom in on her left foot. As much as it will go." The Providence grunt did as he was asked, zeroing in on a single, sneakered foot. "Um, Rex?" Noah leaned in to whisper "what are we looking at?" White's face took up half of the screen, characteristic scowl in place. "My question exactly." Rex rolled his eyes as his upper lip twitched, fighting an irritated frown.

"_That _Noah." The blonde winced in an attempt to look closer. "Her shoelace?" Rex looked at him as though to ask if he was mentally inept. "It's _not_ a shoelace. It's _smoke._ And where else have we seen smoke closely related to someone's disappearance? Or, rather, a big group of some_things?_"

It only took two days. Two days for Cheshire to establish herself in the pecking order. The first moment came when she left her new room in the break of a new day, for though fatigue had dragged her into a restless sleep, her dreams fought her until she pried herself from the bed.

They weren't scary. That was why they were dreams. She didn't fight against them as one would do a nightmare. She knew such struggles would be in vain.

She stood in a circle, not seen but felt, an invisible ripple floating through space with her as its epicenter. It was a familiar dream, one that had made its rounds in the early days. After she died and before she was born. It had reoccurred several times before she left Providence, and had gained new editions to what was almost a facsimile of a play. She wasn't sure why it was happening now, when she was placing such distance between here and there.

Scene one was a couple, a large man and a tiny woman, their arms outstretched and their faces a mockery of tragedy; warped and twisted into frowns and droopy eyes.

_Off with their heads._

As usual, the command came from everywhere and nowhere, from within the floating girl who could do nothing but watch as their sentence was carried out.

Scene two introduced newer additions. Miss Holiday, Six, Bobo, Calan, even White. Their faces were all smiles, stretched and stretched and stretched until their mouths met their ears.

_Off with their heads_

Three. Allison, Noah. Huge gaping eyes and tiny pouting mouths.

_Off_

Four. Deloriano, Sammy, Maria, Lance, Gabriel. Angry glowing eyes with mouths sewn shut.

_With_

Rex.

_Rex? No! He's not supposed to be here! That's new! That's new! _

She reaches for him, fingers extended to the one person whose face and fate she'd hopefully left unharmed. Altered in a good way. Because she _forgave _him, honest and true. He looked at her with woe in his eyes and blood on his face, surrounded by a litter of headless corpses. His arms hung like dead leaves by his sides, leading to hands that were ignoring her coaxing. "You did this?" Soft, gentle words. She nodded. But her apology was dead in her mouth.

_His head._

And then she was laughing, and she was changing, and her hands were claws and her eyes were blind and her skin was black and…

Her eyes flew open but knew no sight as she gasped and thrashed in the bed she'd been given. The past day hit her like a bomb, and she felt for Allison, gently prodding through surrounding presences. She was still alive. Of course she was. What idiot killed their hostage?

The evo was shaking as she forced herself to a sitting position, although curling her legs in on herself just served to remind her of what she wasn't. What she had become. Perhaps this new form did not have tears ducts. Not that she would use them if she could. Now was the time for thinking, not crying. Because she was hell-bent on getting out alive, Allison in tow. And wouldn't it just be peachy keen if a bit of vengeance was wrought?

Her limbs were humming with the motions of monsters in and out of stone walls, almost too much for her to process at once. The entire land was alive with movement, and the caged girl had yet to learn to stem the flow of power she had been given. Her longer legs loped her torso over to the door, not feeling any guard on the other side. She opened it without hesitation.

A little evo was scurrying by. It hadn't been human; she could still feel the parts that were very much rat. Same beady little eyes and beady little heart. Teeth still bucked and sharp with a whip-like tail ended a body that had bulked to the size of an average dog. The evo jumped when the larger opened the door, nose in the air as it froze in terror.

She couldn't say why she tried to touch it.

Maybe curiosity.

Or assurance? It was obvious the creature had enough sense left to fear her. Fear her for reason she still didn't understand.

Or maybe she was just trying to prove to herself that this was her sight now, all flimsy, foggy shapes of everlasting sound, smell, and movement, colors forever absent.

Either way, the poor evo was torn apart. Not the neat, dusty ending provided when she was in control. It was ripped, limb from bloody limb as her suppressed strength lunged forward unexpectedly.

And she refused to find the little squeal it made –terrified, cornered- _delicious. _Tried her hardest to resist a fanged smile growing wider and a sadistic chuckle slipping free. Her heart beat with poorly concealed excitement and adrenaline, the same rush killers get when they have cornered their prey. She licked her lips as though finishing a satisfying meal, sense alerting her to another presence in the now bloody hall.

_Circe. _She opened her mouth to reveal a toothy grin. "Hello there." Judging by her posture and the incline of her head, the catlike evo knew the young woman was standing tall. But the tempo of her heart gave away her nerves.

"You must be new," the goth drawled, a rush flying through the whiskered evo as she realized the girl had _no idea _who she was speaking to. The smile grew wider as the feline spoke, glancing down at her counterpart with a look that was either very kind or very misleading.

Nhamo. _Niy-am-oh._ That was a pretty name. Pretty meaning from a pretty book.

_A Girl Named Disaster._

She most certainly couldn't be Cheshire for this.

"Yes," came the smooth purr as the grin decreased into a wise smile "my name is Nhamo. And you are…?"

"Circe. And the residents of the castle don't kill each other…unless Van Kleiss orders us to."

"Ah. Noted for future reference." Tension drained from pale shoulders as the young woman blinked up into a black face, looking into blank eyes. "Have I met you before? I'm getting this weird vibe." Nhamo snorted, blowing warm air into Circe's face. "I assume not. I would remember someone like you." Of course Circe hadn't been needed to capture Cheshire, because Cheshire's best friend was somewhere in the castle. So Cheshire now Nhamo was quite trapped without brainwashing.

"I apologize for earlier. Van Kleiss ordered me here for a new job and I'm a bit stressed. I didn't mean to kill it." Circe studied Nhamo's face carefully, as though trying to detect a lie. There was none to be had; she honestly hadn't meant to kill the innocent pawn and if she was still Cheshire she would be tearing herself apart over the issue.

But she wasn't so she wasn't.

"Whatever. Just know that that kind of thing gets you thrown into the forest. Not a place you want to be."

"No?" Circe sighed. "You need to know this. Types like us, those that can be reasoned with, stay here. Those who pull stunts like you just did go _out._ Don't do that again if you want a room." Nhamo nodded. Cheshire frowned at the girl's tone.

_Condescending little-_

No. She had to stop that. What did they have to fight about, really? Aside from her near death, not a single hostile memory could be brought against the dark haired girl. They'd had their spats, certainly, but she wasn't dead and neither was Circe. A distant memory of a time in Providence, a boy in goggles trying to sell the goth to an incredulous catlike girl.

Lost.

Confused.

Circe just needed a chance. A chance to show what she could be.

And while Cheshire was uneasy, unable to quite forget what had driven a hostile stake between them in the first place Nhamo was quite logical in her decision. They had both been hurt the same way by the same person. Perhaps sisterhood could stem from common pain. Bygones had gone by.

"I was actually about to get started on what I was supposed to do. I think I have an idea as to how…do you know if there's a way to the top of the castle?" Circe actually took the time to ponder the question, and Nhamo had to remind herself yet again that it wasn't Cheshire and Circe talking to each other. So the brunette had no issue helping.

"Yeah. But I would think Van Kleiss would want to see whatever it is for himsel-"

"Correct." Circe flinched. But Nhamo had felt him coming.

"Van Kleiss is interested in whatever talent you have," Biowulf ignored the goth and the distasteful little frown on her ruby red lips. "Follow me." He turned to leave without waiting to see if Nhamo would follow. The large feline evo made a point to look back at Circe, waiting for her to decide to accompany them.

Moments later found the three on the roof, a quiet as ever Biowulf silently seething in the way that he did. It was strange to be out in the open air, to know she was surrounded by trees and landscape and be unable to see it. To know there was an open sky above and brown blood dirt below. Van Kleiss stood alone on the highest point of his paper castle, his canine minion waiting patiently for the master puppeteer to speak.

"How nice to see you, Circe. And being so kind to our new addition." The siren chose to ignore the slight jab in her master's voice, the irritation that she hadn't been there for whatever had happened last night. It must have been big, she assumed, but he had made it clear that attendance wasn't mandatory, not for her, and that it would be for mere entertainment purposes. The last time he said that was to instigate a fight between two of the weaker, wild evos of the land. Circe honestly hadn't felt like watching two animals tear each other apart.

"I just met Nhamo. It," she turned to look at the feline "she? Said you have a job for her to do?" Nhamo could feel the smile on Van's face, condescending and mocking. Her name change hadn't gone unnoticed, and she couldn't tell if he was saving the information for later or was deciding whether or not to reveal her true identity and prevent the two girls from, in a sense, starting over. After purposely leaving her in uncertainty for several seconds, the man spoke.

"Yes. Indeed I do. Nhamo, was it? If you would be so kind as to show your new pack mates just what you are capable of?" The blonde evo grit her teeth but smiled. "I'm not sure how much control I have yet. My new found skills were thrust upon me quite rudely. A bit carelessly, if do I say so myself," her voice remained calm as she delivered the snit. Van Kleiss didn't break his stride. "Oh, I'm sure you'll manage. Let's not forget just what you have riding on this; I would hate for something to happened to-"

"Fine," she snapped. "But anything I kill is on your _oh so clean _hands."

Cheshire was scared. She had never done anything like this before. Not on such a large scale.

Nhamo didn't care. The only one she cared about was below her feet, completely out of the way of any back lash that may occur.

The beginning was easy, the simple convergence of power just beneath the evo's skin as she slowly gathered strength. It seemed to take less time although the area of encompassment was so much larger, and she was once again reminded to tread lightly with her new abilities. The world was now made of cardboard.

With a breath and a prayer, she released the energy straight into the air and allowed it to spread through the sky. The boundaries of the field extended over the castle and a mile in either direction, an invisible dome encasing the primary part of Abysus in the cool hands of Nhamo's will.

It was actually comfortable. An open extension of herself, a direction for the overabundance of energy she was suddenly in possession of. And Nhamo loved the fact all may see who was the more powerful here. The alpha female. She grinned, wishing for another evo, perhaps something large than a rodent, to scurry by. Cheshire cringed at herself, biting at her cheek until she tasted blood. Because Nhamo could not control Cheshire, Cheshire could not lose herself to her new face. That was not to be allowed. Nhamo was only temporary, only so that survival was possible and processing was encouraged. They were _not _a red queen, that _was _a nightmare.

She heard Circe exhale, impressed.

Nhamo shoved Cheshire way, way back. Because she was powerful and she could.

The next few days were spent venturing out of the confinements of Van Kleiss' castle, and the madman allowed her to do so. Where would she go, really?

Blackmail. True art.

Nhamo wasn't afraid of what the dark woods had to over, the surging and roaring nanites that seemed to crawl in every corner of her senses. She only felt uncertainty the first time she was attacked, applauding herself when she promptly snapped the evo's neck like a twig.

And laughed and laughed, heart racing and blood humming pleasantly. While the beast hadn't been alone – one in a herd of large, horse-like creatures, taller on all fours than Nhamo was standing. Heavy hooves and manes of twisted bone, teeth long and sharp- the others had hurried in the other direction. The second opponent, or even the third and fourth and fifth were dispatched with little effort, although she could feel fatigue gnawing at her limbs. But the sight of the creatures before her, nothing but lumps of mutilated meat when she was done, kept a smile on her face and a spring in her step. Because she was a monster among monsters, a beast-eating beast, and it was only a matter of time before-

Ah.

_Allison._

She had to be Cheshire for Allison. She had to retain…

Bile surged at the sight of the corpse before her, the original form of the evo's body impossible to discern from the pile of flesh. She bit the inside of her cheek (as pain effectively kept her from spiraling), welcoming the iron taste as she forced her mind to run through Act I, Scene 1 of _King Lear. _Manic king with lovely daughters destined to disappoint him. Paranoia, strife. A story rife with betrayal and loathing, madness etched into every beating vein.

Nhamo's ears flickered. Someone was at her field. From the other side. She wondered if Van Kleiss had detected them yet, if any evos had been dispatched as a welcoming party. And then she decided she didn't care. She could easily do away with any of his forest evos if it meant she had the freedom to deal with the situation as she saw fit.

She grinned, vanishing and reappearing before their guests.

A beautiful woman with long hair pulled into a bun, eyes fierce and intelligent as they watched the scanner in her hand. She wore the uniform of a soldier, gun at her hip that she knew how to use.

_Miss Holiday, _murmured Cheshire.

A tall man with hair cut close to his skull, dressed in a suit. The sunglasses on his face were useless to hide his eyes from her; she knew they were carefully inspecting their surroundings. A covert mission?

_Elfman. Six, _sighed Cheshire.

An _ape. _Monkeys had tails. And didn't pack heat.

_Bobo, _giggled the girl on the sidelines.

And…and…

_Rex. _Cheshire retreated into the background, abandoning Nhamo in order to save herself.

They hadn't noticed her yet, the shadows gently wrapping about Nhamo's dark skin and lithe movements. Her body was more efficient than it had been before, more powerful and fluid than a human's. Her guests spoke amongst themselves in hushed tones, although she could see the suited one (_Six, _reminded Cheshire before once again vanishing) knew something was wrong. Sharpened senses perhaps. In any case, she could feel his eyes train on her, although it was impossible for him to see her.

"Doc, is this..?" Rex asked carefully, hardly daring to hope for the trail of breadcrumbs that he seemed to have stumbled upon. He tapped his knuckle on Nhamo's work. She beamed with pride; it was incandescent but sturdy, invisible from a distance and yet all too apparent when one was directly beside it. Like they were now.

"Yes," the woman's voice was just as careful as Rex's when she answered. "There's no doubt about it. The specific signal her nanites give off is entwined in this wall. She created it." Holiday paused for a moment, judging whether the next part of her statement needed to be said. A field this size was beyond Cheshire's level of output; _way_ beyond. She shuddered to think of not only the amount of power that Cheshire would have had to lose in order to create it, but what had happened to the young woman afterwards. Rebound, or even immediate and mortally debilitating exhaustion.

Death, if she was left alone.

But Rex couldn't think about that at the moment, he had to focus on getting in, as he needed to, and saving the two girls that lay beyond. This field proved that Cheshire hadn't wanted to leave, that she, like Allison, had been swept off her feet and into a world they would have otherwise avoided. Van Kleiss had somehow thought of a way to capture and abuse the young woman's powers, maybe Allison was bait. They weren't traitors, they weren't deserters. They were _victims._

"Alrighty then," he spoke through clenched teeth, his hands forming two large energy-based axes. He had learned (and would carry it to his grave) that Cheshire's abilities were susceptible to electrical charge. That included many of his newer weapons.

"Don't," Nhamo purred "I don't think that will work anyway." She revealed herself slowly, watching them react. Six's fingers flexed and tensed, a movement Cheshire would have recognized as the agent preparing to draw his weapons. Bobo was nowhere near as subtle, his guns trained on the tall evo the moment she stepped into view. While Holiday seemed content to cling to her scanner, she could pull out her weapon quickly and efficiently. Nhamo smiled at them, and at Rex's narrowed eyes and raised axes.

"It's very resilient. Quite unlike anything you've ever seen before, right?" They were silent, although she could see anger flickering through Rex's body. He didn't recognize her, of course, and assumed she was merely another one of Van Kleiss' minions. "I'm not here to fight," she hummed, although it only increased the tension in the air "I just wanted to tell you not to bother trying. I'm sure Van Kleiss wouldn't have put it up if he didn't think it would be effective in keeping out the riffraff."

"Yeah?" Rex snarled "we'll see about that!" He unleashed a vicious attack on the walls of the invisible fortress, landing blows that would have decimated concrete and sliced through steel. "Stop!" Holiday's shout was startling. "It's right, Rex. The density of the wall is actually increasing from your attacks. It appears to be absorbing the blows and adjusting accordingly." Rex turned back to Nhamo, glaring at her from his side of the field. She cocked her head to the side and lifted an eyebrow. She had no intention of making enemies this day, and it wasn't her place to explain all that had occurred as of late.

Or all that would occur, soon enough.

"See? It's best if you all just go back now. There's nothing you can do. I honestly wish I had better news for you; you seem like nice enough people." The feline evo turned to leave, tail flitting through the air.

"Where is she?" Nhamo heard Rex demand, his hands pressed against the field as though to push it down. "Who?" she questioned innocently, eyebrow quirked. "Cheshire!" Rex snapped, and shook off the hand Holiday reached towards him. "What did you do to her?" Nhamo pouted her thin lips, granting him her face as she looked over her shoulder.

"Girl this tall, white hair, blue eyes? Very charming and somewhat crazy?" She stroked her chin as though in thought, sightless eyes still focused on the group before her. Holiday and Six were hanging on her every word, a wound tight chimp holding guns that, while at his sides, were held very tightly. They were truly concerned? For Cheshire? Why couldn't they see that her loss was a necessary one? That, now that she as gone, they were free to be happy?

"Ah, yes. I remember her now," Nhamo paused for dramatic effect, watching the stifled hope flit across the male evo's face. "She's inside me." It curled and twisted like melting plastic, this smile of hers, crawling onto her face in a diseased manner. Wide enough so they could see the blood on her teeth and the madness in her eyes.

"I ATE her." Rex froze for a moment, the horror on his face akin to that on the faces of Miss Holiday and Bobo. Six's shock was better displayed by a wrinkle between his eyes, katana in his hands as his teeth clenched together in a grimace. The tense, incredulous silence was broken by Rex's voice, rough with horror.

"What?"

"She's gone. I ATE her," Nhamo licked her lips and laughed. "You'll be happy to know she didn't even whimper at her end. A very proud girl. Absolutely delectable!" She brought her fingers to her face and wiped the blood from her teeth. "Although she did lose the strength to scream when I was halfway-"

"SHUT UP YOU MONSTER!" Rex roared, pounding on the field as though desperate to tear her throat out. Nhamo laughed harder, running off into the trees. It was easy for her to ignore Rex's yells, his threats and the hidden desperation in them. He was screaming and shouting until his voice cracked, the dull banging of his fleshed fists reverberating through her walls.

Nhamo didn't care. And Cheshire was as silent as a broken music box.

Her apology was dead in her bitter mouth.


	6. Chapter 6

**BB says: **_Sing a song of six pence, a pocket full of rye. Four and twenty black birds baked into a pie. _

**Rating: **Teen

**Disclaimer: **I own no part of Generator Rex of Lewis Carroll.

**BB says some more: **Hi _Serenity's Ghost_! *waves frantically and receives odd looks from passerby* Now stop reading this and read the dang chapter!

"'_How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.  
>'You must be," said the Cat, 'or you wouldn't have come here',"<em>

_~Lewis Carroll_

The first day, week, month, was Hell. Not in the sense that a hyperbole is born. It was horribly, terrifyingly, heart-achingly familiar and because Hell is created in the recesses of one's mind and memories, it was Hell. With the deep dark sky and the black, black soil and everything reeking of dust and decay and blood. An abyss where creatures beyond the contemplation of one's worst nightmares stalked day and night, every bit as insane and dangerous as the puppeteer pulling their strings. Where no air could surface to help those who screamed and no hope remained for those who wandered continually through.

And yet…

The familiarity spoke to her. For this had once been a place she had once been with a different name and face and body.

So Hell was home?

Where _was _home?

Where _was _Hell?

Here.

There.

Everywhere.

The first month was Hell.

Allison had been given a room in true captured fashion, the highest point of the highest place in the castle. It had the bare essentials in the beginning; hay bed, single window, bucket for business. They brought her food once a day and water thrice. She noted the rather mucky muddy nature of the floor and realized that Van Kleiss had her cornered with his mucky muddy limbs. Allison curled up on her bed as tight as her body would allow and let misery overcome her in a fashion she hadn't known in quite some time. Watching as hopelessness tore apart all that she had come to know in recent days. Friends and favorites and happiness.

She felt cold and numb for the most part.

Always, _always _cold. Because this was what it felt like to not really matter anymore. To be a mere trinket or object or thing that was held in front of someone's nose. There was no warmth to be had for a thing in the mud.

Wake up. Misery. Food. Sleep. She wondered if it would be best if the great darkness behind her lids became the most important part of her, if she let it stretch and twist and arch until it dominated all that she was and all that she could be and all that she wasn't. Wouldn't Cheshire-her-favorite be free then? Wouldn't she be able to run and run and run like they were both craving to do? Flee from this life as only they could and fade and vanished and disappear…

She wanted to disappear.

She tried not to hate.

Hate is like drinking poison and hoping your enemy will die. At least that's what Cheshire used to say.

But Cheshire was gone now. She saw it happen. Because that thing picking itself up from the dirt was not Cheshire anymore.

One day, after the tenth mark on her wall. Another bucket began to appear with her food. One for her to wash herself with, apparently. Several days after that, new clothes to replace the rags on her back. And while she cringed at the thought of accepting anything from her former favorite now captor she was still a _girl_. And despised the mess her body had become. Cheshire would be happy for her.

And then books. Old and new, classics and fads. They began to appear by the bundles, stacking up against her wall. The last to arrive was a favorite of her favorite. _Alice in Wonderland. _She read that first, and would occasionally re-read it on particularly dark nights.

And then she appeared. Her body was big and long and not very pretty but Allison remembered her from that horrible day and even if she didn't her favorite emanated a sort of feeling, sense, being that radiated like a field and was a dead giveaway to everything she was and believed and could be. And this massive creature that now darkened the doorway, even if it was not Cheshire, was close enough to cause a little spark of hesitant happiness in Allison's heart.

Her smile was small, almost cruel, behind tangled white hair as she said "hello, Alice. How have you been?" And her voice was slow and precise and she was deadly accurate in every move. Every breath, blink of an eye, twitch of her ear, was calibrated. No wasted actions as her blank stare regarded the small girl before her.

Allison stiffened, frowning a bit. She wasn't sure she liked the almost predatory glint in the evo's eyes. The way her smile refused to be welcoming and contagious as Cheshire's had once been. "May I come in?" Without waited for a response, the large evo entered the room and sat on the bed. She picked up one of the tomes resting beside her and touched the spine lovingly. "I wish I could read. And since I can't read brail…well, it is a somewhat lacking existence." Allison didn't respond. Of course. They silently watched each other.

"Well?" The not-Cheshire-anymore said. "Do you have anything to say to me?" Allison felt her brow wrinkle in confusion. What could she possibly say to this creature? "Oh? No? And here I thought I could swing by and visit the pet of the palace." Allison snarled. Pet? It wasn't as though she wanted to be here! Trapped in a dead place like before! When she was what she wasn't now!

"That seemed to have gotten under your skin," the evo mocked "and yet you seem so quiet. Ah? What was that? I can't quite hear you, birdy." Allison opened and shut her mouth indignantly. The silence quickly began awkward for her as she failed to respond to the taunts. The evo sighed as though the girl before her was quite a tiresome individual, and made to stand.

"I'll be back in a few days. I'm afraid our visits aren't permitted to occur very often," her exit was as precise and slow as her entrance. She paused for a moment, throwing a glance over her shoulder and pinning Allison with her empty eyes. "My name is Nhamo. And since I have chosen to release your tongue, you best learn to use it again. Only if you want to get out of here alive." And she was gone, a fuming brunette in her wake.

Her favorite had to know that Allison had long since lost the ability to speak and was unsure she could reclaim it. Cheshire knew that. Cheshire was gone.

How dare Nhamo approach such a topic so casually? Cheshire was the only one Allison would try to speak for! The _only one!_

The visits continued, as Nhamo had promised (threatened?). Each time she mocked Allison's silence, sneered at her clear discomfort, prodded her about her body and face and intelligence. But Allison held firm. And after a few weeks, she was confident she had built a shield regarding the nasty evo's words.

But she was to be proven wrong.

"What sort of idiot is taken prisoner so easily? Did he offer you candy?" she heckled. "Or perhaps you're following the same path as your mother? Did the nice man with the pretty hair offer you drugs, you crack baby?" And the girl snapped. She wasn't sure what was happening really, who had control of her body at the moment, but by the time she woke up, her palm was stinging and Nhamo head was turned to the side as she fingered her cheek. Horrified, Allison stumbled back.

The evo laughed. "Really? After all this, _that _is you response?" she swept up to Allison with a graceful speed her slow entrance hadn't displayed. "Allow me to enlighten you, my dear, _dear, _prisoner." She leaned in and Allison cringed, even as her hand twitched to hit the evo again. "Only fools and simpletons speak with blows. Ignorant idiots who lack either the creativity or the brain cells to participant in a true, intellectual debate. But at _least _they strike like they mean it. Like they truly wish to do harm instead of merely _slapping like an offended girl. _How can you even claim such a move as your own? The way I see it that was either a sign of your lacking intelligence or one of your lacking strength. I am unimpressed." And she was gone.

Allison fumed for days.

How dare she? _How dare she? _Didn't she see how much pain Allison was in? Didn't she realize just how hard this entire life had become? How the small girl ached for her incurable friend that no longer existed and how everyday was a battle with her own uncertainties?

_How dare she?_

Allison released a guttural and extremely wounded scream, winding into a vicious frenzy. Books were thrown about the room (gifts from _her,_ no doubt!Nhamo! The monster that had eaten Cheshire!) clothes were ripped to rags and thrown out the window. Her anguish took physical form between her fingers, her face scowling in a way that was physically painful. It all ended in a matter of minutes and she threw herself onto her bed with a snarl. But since there were tears in her eyes, was it not a sob?

Allison landed on a hard knoll and snatched the book up.

_Alice in Wonderland._

She screamed.

She tore open the cover and began to rip the pages from the binding, the world a snow globe filled with caricatures of Alice and her adventures. It was a nice book, to be certain, the pages thick and the print a glossy black. The girl didn't pay attention to this in her rage. Because that wasn't this world and she couldn't see that world as clearly as she could before.

"…_and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days." _She read the final line on the final page slowly, before also ripping it free with vigor. Truth be told, she had lost much of her fire in the process, her movements slowing to a dance of pure misery. She sat in the scattered pages, staring at the wall. What now?

She lifted the paper under her hand, graced with a picture of Alice and Cheshire, their first meeting. Her Cheshire, the Cheshire that had vanished, had the line wrong. She had never asked Allison where she wanted to go, and Allison had never asked her where or what they ought to strive for. Perhaps it wasn't needed now. But perhaps it was.

"_You've lost your muchiness,"_ Allison recalled Cheshire saying, seeing her for the first time after her cure _"but I like you either way. You used to be muchier, and though you are now lesser, you are lovely."_

_I am lovely,_ Allison thought to herself, holding the page close _muchy or lessy._ There was no way she could face Nhamo again. Not like this.

Allison refused to see the evo when next she came to the door, slamming it shut the moment it swung open to reveal the tall creature. Perhaps the worst part was the look on Nhamo's face, one of smug certainty. As though everything was according to some pace she had set, some scene she was directing. It reminded the Allison all too much of her time in the Pack, the feeling that every action was monitored and controlled through an extensive web of lies and derision.

She wanted to tell Nhamo to burn in Hell. Scream at her to return Cheshire.

And what was to stop her? What was to keep her from taking back what was hers? She had every right to her voice! Every right to her favorite! And if she had to speak to get what was hers, then so be it. She gazed out her window, glancing at the large, incandescent wall that had embraced the lands. The angle of the sun made it seem ethereal, beautiful. She wondered, however briefly, if that was what Cheshire had done to display loyalty to Van Kleiss. What she had done to get Allison clothes and books and two meals a day, before Nhamo locked her in a castle similar to how Allison was once held by Breach.

She could already laugh and sigh and scream, so her voice appeared to be working.

She started small, instigating sounds she knew how to make. "Haaaaa. Haaaaaa. Ahhhh." It was breathy and rough, but the sound of her own words still made her jump. And when her unused throat screamed with the new work, she thought of Nhamo's mocking face and Cheshire's twinkling eyes and she persevered. "Hi" and "bye" were available soon enough, as she had once mouthed the words whenever others spoke them to her. With "bye" came "back" and "buddy" and "bring" and "book". And because her lips could remember the press and pull of "b", "p" was within her reach and "m" was a nearing goal. There was one day when she read partially aloud, saying the words with her newly learned sounds, only stopping when her throat begged for mercy from overuse.

She would be ready. She _was _ready.

Allison had already decided what she would say to the infuriating, lamentable monster when next she came to call, had already worked out her exact words that would become kamikaze. An entire speech to be used when that door opened next and Nhamo smirked at her and attempted to tear her apart. To eat her up just as she had done to Cheshire. And though Allison had slammed the door in the evo's face several times before she knew the twisted feline would be back the very next visiting day. And the next and next until she was allowed in; because if one were to feed a cat once, the animal always returns for more.

So the girl sat. And waited.

The knock came, twice, before the door was opened.

Nhamo entered with her hands folded behind her back, mouth its usual patronizing smile and eyes gazing sightlessly ahead. The door closed behind her, leaving the two in thick silence. Allison narrowed her eyes but her memorized speech seemed to fly out the window. No. She would not back down now. She was strong and powerful and forceful and great.

"I loved her." Nhamo looked up in surprise, but not the amount of surprise Allison thought her voice warranted. It was thick and scratchy still, and her throat would still ache at times, but it was her voice again, a beautiful thing to even her own ears. It was not the voice of a singer or actor, or even that of a story teller. But it was _hers, _and it was lovely.

"I loved Cheshire. She was my friend. The first friend I had in a long, long, long, time. And…and she listened to me, even when I couldn't talk. She tried to know me, to get closer to me and be anything that I needed her to be. She was my family." Nhamo cocked her head to the side but didn't say anything. "And she thought I was great too. Although I know I'm not. She thought I was clever and pretty and funny.

And she liked to spend time with me and she was chaotic and wild and I had to keep her out of a lot of trouble because she was too trusting and open and too likely to be betrayed by everyone. And I know I'm unstable and crazy and creepy but for some reason she wanted to stay with me. She wanted to be there. And I selfishly wish she was here with me now. Because she would have an idea that was stupid and twisted and not likely to work the way she wanted it to and very likely to cause more hurt than help despite its good intentions. We would probably both be injured or die. But we would do it together."

Allison shook her head but continued to glare with marble hard eyes, pupils as sharp as broken glass. "She was my best friend. And my favorite. My sister. My family. And with you and Van Kleiss and the Pack and Abysus and the world, I don't know who I hate more. For trying to hurt her. For taking her away from me." Allison's throat was sore now, and her voice was little more than a croak. But she never broke her gaze for a second, watching the even planes of Nhamo's face for a reaction that would give her some hope. Some inclining that Cheshire was still fighting, somewhere deep down in inside.

The large evo laughed humorlessly, fangs glinting in the evening sunlight. "Is that right? Tell me, did you cry when you realized I had eaten her? Did you weep for your makeshift sister?" Allison narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists, tasting the sorrow on the tip of her tongue; bittersweet and wrathful. "Why would you take her away? Why does everyone take what is mine and take it far and keep it from me? Why can't I just have _one thing?_" Nhamo shrugged. "Because life hates you, I assume. And can you really blame it?" And though she saw it coming and could easily have defended herself, Nhamo stood stock still and allowed Allison to strike her across the face. Not the slap of an offended woman, but the balled hand of an enraged fighter.

The evo stumbled back a few steps from the force, thoughts gleeful at the amount of strength the small girl was hiding in her body. Although her face was smarting and her mouth was bleeding from where she bit her cheek, Nhamo smiled wider.

"Give her back!" Allison shrieked. "Give her back now! Now, now, now, now!"

"You really want her back that badly?" The evo's voice was strangely calm and low, somehow more threatening than her mockery. But Allison's body refused to unwind from anger to fear. "Do you think you're strong enough? Able to do what you need to do to be free? To free her? Because she cannot be here for long and neither can you. I am only here because that cowardly fool is hiding in the shadows and refusing reality with who she was and isn't anymore and cannot face again. Because she knows that it would destroy what she has built and the progress she has made for him and them and you. She doesn't think she can stay here for a moment longer without lashing out and destroying the world. It's much the same for you, right?" Allison didn't answer.

"You are hiding from who you were too. You want to cower away and remain hidden and lost. It is only when you are antagonized, blinding by fury, that you can bring yourself back down to this world and face what is happening. You know your own fury and wrath and you long to seek what is yours but have no idea if you can hold on to the part of you that is beloved. You love Allison. But you loved Breach too. You are just as mad as she was."

"You don't know that," Allison hissed half-heartedly "you don't know I'm crazy."

"You must be. Or you wouldn't have survived here as long as you did and have. I can't help but wonder who we'll be when all this is over, that being said." Without further ado, Nhamo revealed what was in her hands, clasped behind her back.

And shot Allison square in the chest.


	7. Chapter 7

**BB says: **Sorry it's taken me so long to update (although I apologize all the time and eventually it shall stop appearing to be sincere) I really love this story but I have other obligations too…don't kill me.

**Rating: **Teen. Like a prom.

**Disclaimer: **I own no part of Generator Rex, Lewis Carroll or Emily Bronte.

**BB screams and hops up and down: **This is for the ever loyal _Serenity's Ghost. _Happy (late) birthday love!

"_Once she remembered trying to box her own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing against herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people,"_ _  
><em>

~_Lewis Carroll_

And beyond. Before. Allison still in her prison and Cheshire in hers, sinking deep into an abyss within an abyss. They saw each other a few times a week, and comfort was to be had in the feel of the girl's nanites above. Sluggish and dragging, but faster than normal. While Rex had taken a considerable amount to heal her, he had failed to claim all the tiny machines that made her so much more than Allison Bell. And though Cheshire had felt them that first day, that first contact, she hadn't said anything. Because Allison was scared and unsure and didn't need to be placed under any more surveillance, Cheshire had held her tongue and gently embraced the stiff backed girl in need of a friend.

And that was before. And this is before. As Allison ponders her time in Abysus and Nhamo rests, Cheshire raises her head from the dust and flickers between memories and fantasy.

She knows this is a dream. A memory of a time before Nhamo. But she doesn't want it to end:

_He was roughly slammed through several buildings, apartments and offices that Providence would most likely end up paying for. He appeared to be injured, but Cheshire couldn't interfere without being detected and, as White Knight had threatened, being Court Marshaled._

_ She wasn't entirely sure what that would entail, but her runaway imagination wound mischievous plots full of dark rooms and torture machines, a jailer with a leather mask and frowning soldiers guarding her cell. _

_ But despite that, if Rex took one more blow to the jaw she would be willing to throw away everything to save him. Willing to toss her hat into the ring and risk detection in order to ensure the safety of the silly boy. _

_As though sensing and spurred on by her mental decision, the young male evo leapt to his feet and glared at the rampaging monster that bounded after him. At times he wondered if they could smell the cure he had pulsing beneath his skin and unconsciously sought out the relief he could offer. Although Cheshire just claimed he was a magnet for the odd. _

_ "Bring it on!" he responded to the roar that was directed at him, the support fire supplied by soldiers doing very little by way of assistance. Six was on the scene, of course, giving directions to herd the large, bony monster to less constipated parts of the city. _

_But Rex was losing patience quickly; he was going to take this thing out, and now. With one of many bestial eyes on him, the young man leapt back onto the scene, unaware of the tensing in Cheshire's shoulders as she watched. _

_ A large paw-like ligament cut through the air, aiming to rent the boy into bit sized pieces and continue with its angry storm. The wild evo roared again as a large sword sliced through its rippling flesh, jerking back as Rex landed a metal fist to what could have once been a jaw. Cheshire let free a silent cheer, jumping to her feet with a smile as the monster fell with a crash, crushing cars and street lights beneath its bulk. _

_ Rex, dominant and victorious, placed a hand on his opponent's body, reducing it to a flopping goldfish. Needless to say, the young evo was surprised by this turn of events and helpless to keep Goldie from suffocating on that hot summer day. _

_ Cheshire pounced as he wandered the halls of the Keep, his mind on other things. He was completely unprepared for the clawed hand that reached forth from nothingness and forced him into the wall. It was somewhat painful but he was promptly distracted by the gentle press of feminine lips upon his. _

_ "Cheshire," he breathed when she pulled away, beaming face gazing up at him. Smooth and gentle, the smile was one she reserved for people she held dear. Or who amused her. Rex liked to think he was the former. _

_His arms wrapped around her waist and she worried the bandage on his cheek as he pulled her close. "Rex. What is this?" Although she knew. The young man raised a hand, covering the one she had against his face and smiling sheepishly. "This? Oh I…fell down the stairs. And ran into a door." She rolled her eyes, and pressed her forehead to his. "Damn it. If you can't take care of my property, you'll force me to take action." Rex wrinkled his brow. "Your property?"_

_ "Absolutely. I'm afraid you belong to me now. And I like to keep my stuff nice." She huffed with faux offense and pulled back so abruptly she made him miss her warmth. "Be more careful on missions or you'll get me in trouble, dingle berry," she hummed. "It's difficult watching you get your ass kicked from the sidelines." Rex frowned in a way that was only his, confused and very nearly offended. "I won in the end. No need to worry."_

_ "Yeah. But there's always the fear…" she wrinkled her nose and pouted her lips, face contorting as she fought her next words. "Fear? What fear?" asked her unknowing companion. But she would not say aloud the issue that bothered her ever since her move. Since she was no longer allowed to watch his back and be sure he didn't take risks that could possibly end terribly. A deep seeded concern had burrowed into her at some point, and she couldn't shake the clammy cold it brought forth. _

_ What if he hit trouble, and she wasn't there? What if he needed her?_

_ Cheshire shook her head. "Ailurophobia." The confusion mounted on Rex's face. _

_ "Ailurophobia?"_

_ "Ailurophobia. It's the fear of cats. Without constant exposure to me, you may forget how awesome cats can be." It was silent in the halls for a brief moment, broken by Rex's deep throated chuckle. Cheshire once again wondered at the deepness his voice had acquired over the years. "Of course," he chortled, charmed by her tangent "that is a very logical fear considering that I'm a dog person." He leaned forward and kissed her frowning lips, stopping the comment she was preparing to fire back at him and listening to her heart beat in his chest. She allowed him to silence her and wove her fingers into his hair as he deepened the embrace. _

_ A sigh escaped as they parted, relaxing against each other and listening for any approaching footsteps. "Hey, Cheshire?" She hummed in response, though it sounded more like a purr. "I'll be alright, you know. Don't worry so much." She wiggled into her favorite spot under his chin, muttering across his throat. "If I do worry, as you accuse, I'll only stop if you agree to stop worrying about me as well," she gave a little laugh. "You do, don't you?" And Rex couldn't deny it. Everyone knew Cheshire was too trusting, too loving, bound to be hurt by the very people she pulled close. Not everyone deserved her faith a compassion. His arms tightened and he grinned. _

_ "That's fair. But I can't guarantee that I'll stop."_

_ "I know. Me neither" They both took a breath before saying in unconscious synchrony, "I'll be alright." They laughed together, enjoying their moment. _

Cheshire looked at her past self, a ghost in her own reality. "I'll be alright?" She said it with wonder, briefly allowing life to flow back into her limbs. "I'll be alright?" She bit her lip and closed her eyes. "AM I alright? Alright?" She flexed her fingers and flicked her tail, thinking of running rivers of crimson and sticky blackness. "I AM NOT alright." She wrapped her arms about herself, curling in slowly and feeling her body start to change. "I AM NOT ALRIGHT. But this is not over."

And Nhamo opened her eyes. She supposed gratitude was the appropriate reaction to this situation. It was, after all, her lack of nightmares that led to this long series of memories and dreams. They allowed a feeling of warmth to invade her slumber, roots of hope and joy that permeated deep into her body and ran like the veins of a river. Branches of happiness that sparked little sunspots in her life.

But all the evo could feel was resentment. Because she didn't need the sweetness of events that were a dead end, the bitter end to a wonderful beginning. A flat surface that stretched several inches before her and stopped in time to scrap her nose painfully. Perhaps the worst of all was Cheshire; with every dream she reasserted herself, whining and whimpering in the recesses of Nhamo's body. No matter what, the logic that Nhamo spewed and insisted upon (_you can't handle this, you can't, you can't_) Cheshire would sigh and sit, determined.

As per usual, Nhamo felt the castle for Allison. The knowledge that the girl lived was soothing, but not in the same way that it was soothing to Cheshire. Nhamo felt nothing outside of possession. The girl was little more than a part of her property under threat. She wouldn't mind keeping her, but the loss of her would not be so terrible. Friends are replaceable, especially those with no clear use.

Cheshire shook her head.

The life of the female evo had taken on a sense of monotony and boredom, a set rut that had been created unconsciously. When she wasn't reasserting her power over the creatures wandering the lands, she was working her way into Circe's good graces. Because the girl could be of use in the future, and Nhamo would prefer she offered her assistance without the threat of violence. Because there was a strong chance that she would end up killing the siren if it came down to a fight.

"Ah! Nhamo, _ma jolie déesse _(my lovely goddess). How are you this day?" Brigand smiled brightly, handsome face gently curving as he gazed upon her hunched body. She hissed at him briefly but did not respond. He continued speaking, undeterred.

"Very well, I see. May I join you on your walk?" She grunted, wishing to kill him but knowing that such an action would set her back several steps. She had earned a bit of trust over the weeks, enough that Van Kleiss had been convinced to make Allison's stay, more…comfortable, as per Cheshire's standards. Killing a valuable tool like Brigand, while very satisfying, would do Nhamo no good in the long run. She turned from him to try and escape.

"Perhaps a visit to Paris? I'm sure Monsieur Kleiss will not mind a quick venture."

He had known, all along, the great wonder that she held just beneath her shell of humanity, and now that it was finally at the surface he couldn't help but give chase. Her true nature, raw and severe, drove him forward and made him seek her out. Love, he knew, for that was all it could be. Her silk ethereal hair and her sweet-fanged lipless mouth and her soft white eyes. Beautiful.

"It is the world of lovers, _minette, _a world of beauty! You would fit in so well, _n'est pas?"_

He reached for her, noting how she cringed but too lost in his own infatuation to care. He brought her candies and music and flowers. Watched her smash and rip all his gifts apart and wondered at the animal wrath that seemed to engulf all that she was. Her snarled smile and clenched claws. He only came to her shoulder but gazed in wonder at the flex and pull of lithe muscle beneath her dark midnight flesh.

"I think I hate you," she sighed dismissively, promptly vanishing and leaving him alone in the halls.

Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Yes, this was just another day in the world of the shadows, just another instance of Nhamo skulking through the darkened ways and trees. Growling at those smaller and sneering at those larger. She would go speak with Allison soon, her typical mockery and jeering, shaking the cage of the little bird as it peered at her resentfully. It was needed; hatred is the greatest motivator of all and if the girl could not prove her use soon Nhamo would leave her behind.

Cheshire snarled at the mental threat, harshly smashing the thought into little pieces.

_I will not leave my friend._ Nhamo hissed in irritation.

_Stupid girl._

_It's MY body. I still make the rules. _To this Nhamo was suspiciously silent, but Cheshire took no notice.

A ripple ran through the castle, a subtle shake that was too small to be an earthquake and too significant to be felt by the inhabitants. Unless one had whiskers to the floor that constantly monitored movement, they would never know that Van Kleiss was pleased by one thing or another. The very ground of Abysus would respond to this occasionally, but only when he felt the greatest of joys or accomplishments. She had felt it when she first created the field surrounding the land, and once when she had shunned the agents sent to investigate.

Cheshire forced an image to the surface, one that Nhamo tore to ribbons.

Being the nosy monster she was, a wrathful wicked creature that wanted nothing more than to cause this wrathful wicked man pain, she sought out his latest discovery. Hoping to smash it to pieces and leave its mangled corpse where he would find it. She smiled and ran her tongue over her teeth.

What a discovery it was.

He was too happy to notice her, too engulfed by his own supposed greatness to register the sightless eyes watching him boast his latest weapon. A gun, he gushed like a child with a science project, a gun unlike any other. Though Skalamander and Biowulf -his most loyal minions- hardly knew what he spoke of, they listened devotedly.

A gun that fired _nanites. Active _nanites. With this he could create evos from a distance, from a protected, unseen area as needed. Once completed, this weapon (or those with fingers, Nhamo corrected spitefully) would be able to increase their ranks effortlessly. Changing opponents into allies with the flick of a trigger. Who could stop him when no one knew friend from potential foe? How could they shut down a plan when they weren't sure who would be next to succumb to his wrath? How? He smiled wickedly.

Cheshire cringed uneasily.

Nhamo grinned and sunk back into her shadows to wait.

By the time he found out it would be too late. His lab destroyed, his blueprints burned, his masterpiece swept out from beneath him while he gloated and plotted. All because he dared to spite a single evo, one he thought to manipulate into working for him.

"Hell doth possess no wrath like a woman scorned," Nhamo sung to herself, just outside of Allison's door. Cheshire agreed hesitantly, daring to rest for a brief moment. She had sunk further into the abyss, numb to her surroundings until a flame flickered through her essence.

Dread.

And, as she once again fought her way into linear thought, a feat that was becoming more and more difficult, she was horrified to feel the weight of a weapon in her grasp, a sneer on her face, tears in Allison's eyes.

Hearing the girl's voice dulled Nhamo, enough so that Cheshire arose with a vengeance. She gnawed and tore at the monstrous evo's will, disgusted as she shouted her rejection of the plan and set her brain ablaze with self-loathing.

_It's not complete! _Cheshire screeched _it could hurt her! _The girl's scream was loud enough to paralyze Nhamo, freeze her motions until the only thing still working was her mouth. She was powerless to face down Allison's blow as Cheshire rampaged and roared, dragging extended claws across the walls of Nhamo's skull.

A battle of wills commenced, Cheshire struggling to regain control just long enough to very likely save the girl's life. She grasped sanity in the form of poetry, Emily Bronte.

_The night is darkening round me,  
>The wild winds coldly blow ;<br>But a tyrant spell has bound me,  
>And I cannot, cannot go.<em>

Cheshire rattled and moaned, shrieked and gnawed, throwing herself at bindings she hadn't known existed until this very moment. When had this happened? When had Nhamo taken so much power? When did chains appear on her body, shackles on her wrists and ankles?

_The giant trees are bending  
>Their bare boughs weighed with snow;<br>The storm is fast descending,  
>And yet I cannot go.<em>

_Always, _Nhamo cackled spitefully _always._

_Clouds beyond clouds above me,  
>Wastes beyond wastes below ;<em>

Cheshire howled and snapped. _No! No, no, no, no, no, no! _Blood escaped as she bit into her cheek,

_No! She's our friend!_

_But nothing drear can move me;_

_ I will not, can not go! _Came Nhamo's powerful gale, finishing the poem meant to sedate her and claiming it as her own. Cheshire stumbled as her newer self gained ground and moved to devour her. _You NEED me!_ _This is what you made me for!_ Truth. A crack arched through Cheshire. _Because you are weak! _Truth. Cheshire fell. _I shall save us! I shall protect us while you burn away! Foolish, disgusting, weak little girl!_ Pressure appeared on Cheshire's chest, quickly engulfing her until she could no longer move. She wriggled and fought, but this new persona was too much; Nhamo was a monster now, too big for the weakened and hurting Cheshire to face down alone.

_Friend, _she pleaded weakly. _Our friend. _She was breaking in earnest now, the cracks multiplying and ripping across her face like the trenches of the earth, shards wrenching free as Nhamo picked her apart. _Friend._

_Shut up. _The fire left Nhamo as she sensed victory. _You idiot. It's for our own good. What use is she to us like this?_ Cheshire wanted to respond, wanted to continue the fight, but she was so tired, so defeated. All she could do was struggle and hope, watching as a hand that was hers and yet not brought forth the ugliest thing she had ever seen.

Level.

Fire.

Cheshire wailed, but Nhamo left her on a plateau of broken thoughts, bound by her own doubts.

_Help me. I'm lost. _A call to no one.

Allison fell and stopped moving, jagged red streams staining her blouse. A blouse Cheshire had arranged to be sent to her. Hazel eyes gazed at the ceiling in shock and betrayal, slowly growing empty as her heart squeezed the last bit of her life onto the floor. Her head was bent at an unnatural angle and her legs were crooked in a nearly disgraceful manner. Sandy hair turned clay brown as it was stained.

The guards that had rushed in were quickly torn apart by the snarling Nhamo, adding to the puddle of red on the ground. She apathetically gazed at her soundless weapon and the destruction it had wrought. "Damn," she sighed "must have been a failed invention." It cracked and disintegrated from her disappointment, but the elation Nhamo felt made up for her plan going awry. Cheshire had vanished and with no inner voice to question her actions, she wondered if this was what it was like to be free.

As though sensing something amiss, the dirt Van Kleiss had littered through the room stirred and prodded at Allison's body and Nhamo's feet. Time was running short, but now she would leave. There was nothing to keep her here now.

She was Nhamo.

Slave to _no one._

She sauntered through the palace without worry, smile twisted and dangerous on her face as she proceeded to her final destination. The few who were unlucky enough to cross her path met an untimely end as she no longer feared repercussions and openly defied her former captor.

Free! Nhamo laughed.

Cheshire was silent. As it should be.

And why should it stop here? With this easy prey of an already decayed land. She could move forth, tear and rip apart a world that had so injured her in the past. What was to stop her now? Who could possibly step forth and tame the wild creature that had finally crawled from the recesses of a helix Hell mind? No one! She was Nhamo! Destruction incarnate!

"Nhamo?" She turned, feeling for the speaker.

"Circe," she said sweetly, as though she wasn't covered in blood and breathing heavily. The goth remained calm although Nhamo could hear the anxiety in her heartbeat. She clenched her fists by her sides, and had to open her mouth twice before words would come out.

"What are you doing?" The larger evo actually thought for a moment, pondering the question. She was incensed and energized, of course, but rage and strength needed a direction in order to be used effectively. Productively. Correctly.

"I'm starting a revolution," she shrugged and grinned "you want in?"

She wasn't sure if she was surprised that Circe had to ponder the idea. All she knew was that if the girl moved to raise the alarm, she would kill her like others before her.

But perhaps it wouldn't come to that. A considerable amount of time had been spent in sewing the seed of doubt into the siren's mind, preparing her for this day.

"You've gone crazy."

Nhamo chuckled. "No I haven't. One cannot go where they already are."

The brunette snorted at her…friend? Yes, she supposed they had become friends at some point. It could get very lonely in Abysus, with the number of speaking evos at a minimum and even fewer willing to actually sit and participate in a civil conversation. Most took their new, twisted bodies as an excuse to warp their minds as well, to succumb to darker urges and cruelty than they would never have indulged as humans. Nhamo was the first in a long time to stay an addition to the palace; Circe was certain the larger evo would have lost it by this point and joined the other nastier beings outside.

In any case, since Nhamo had appeared to have retained a _sliver _of her civility, Circe found herself gravitating to the strange and dangerous feline in the same way she had once gravitated to the creepy and mentally crooked Breach. The goth was a social creature, really. Maybe that was why she had once longed for Rex. Another evo that could understand. That could sympathize. That could waste his days away with her and be happy with that simple belonging. Her heart throbbed painfully, but she was surprised to find that it was more from shame than resentment.

"You want me to just leave? Just like that? Drop everything and follow you? Who _are _you?"

"What I was and am don't matter to me now. There is so much I could be, I find it repetitive to focus on a person that's long gone. I plan to move on now, and you must decide where you belong." The girl had no idea how her life depended on this decision; she wrinkled her nose and lifted her eyes. "I really thought you would be normal-ish. That you would be one of the sane ones. Even after that first day, I still thought you wouldn't shift into crazy mode."

"Shift? You think I am not the same as I was before? Allow me to inform you; what I used to be is neither greater nor lesser than me now, only different. I am the more recent layer of a shell, the latest secretion of a life spewing fountain, and therefore the same in my difference."

"You've really lost it." Nhamo flicked her tail. "Maybe so. But can you honestly say that you don't also feel lost? Incomplete?" The goth had no answer, clenching her fists and averting her eyes.

Her face pinched as she gave her answer.

_Cold. _That was the first thought that her mind was able to piece together, the first linear process that actually solidified. The next was that her back was pressed to the hard ground, her eyes were stinging, and her shirt was very wet. Soaked, in fact, with a sticky drench that reeked of salt and metal.

Blood?

She had to blink several times to clear her vision and to start creating enough tears to satisfy her thirsty eyes. She struggled to sit up, aided by her larger arms as she-

_Larger _arms?

She patted her body down, part scared, part relieved, to find extra appendages on either side of her body. Tentatively, she created a small, swirling darkness in the palm of her hand, algae green eyes widening and contracting. She was…_her _again.

Should she laugh? Cry? Some hybrid of both? There was so much pain in this form, in this body, and she wasn't sure she could absorb it all without Cheshire. But that was why she had to be this. _For _Cheshire. Who would never have hurt her like Nhamo had hurt her. Never had said those nasty things and made her bleed and made her cry. She needed to help…"Cheshire," whimpered dry pink lips.

Weak from her body's transformation and greatly disoriented by the new weight on her body, Breach…no, Allison, stood. It was time to help her friend. A hole appeared beneath her feet, and she slipped in.

Nhamo dodged gracefully, lithe and powerful in this body of hers. Her ears twitched in annoyance, snarl on her face as her empty eyes faced down her new opponent. It had been too easy, as with most things, and she knew at one point she would face worthy opposition.

Even if it came from the most unlikely of places.

"Stir them up," she had grinned at Circe moments before, once she had received the girl's consent to her coup d'état. "We'll leave chaos when we go. I want them kept busy taming their own demons and forced to face their own nightmarish selves. I want them to be torn apart by their one time allies." As she had once been. A memory tickled at the back of her skull, a burning city and bloody faces but she shoved it away.

"Alright," Circe had agreed, averting her eyes. For what attachment did she have to the wild evos Van Kleiss had collected? "But only the hopeless ones. Despite everything, Van Kleiss, Skalamander, even Biowulf…they took me in when no one else would. I owe them. I don't want them dead." Nhamo had snorted and waved her hand dismissively. She had every intention of killing them all later, but perhaps it would be best for Circe to assume otherwise.

"Whatever. Just hurry up before they catch on." If they hadn't already. "I'll be in Van Kleiss' lab for ten and only ten minutes. If you're not there by then, I'm leaving you to his mercy." And the way she said it, sickeningly sweet and coated with crude sincerity, assured Circe that the being standing before her was just monstrous enough to abandon her in such a way.

The goth was made to wonder why she thought to follow those who would kill her as soon as smile at her, to whom her life was inconsequential.

No. That's not fair. She'd met others that weren't like that, attached herself to them for a time.

Rex. And Sqwidd. And Cricket. And Tuck. Why? Why had she allowed those relationships to turn out like this?

She opened her mouth, perhaps to coax the taller evo into saying something to soothe her mind (although it wasn't in Nhamo's character to do such a thing) but she was promptly interrupted.

They were both caught off guard by the blow that sent Nhamo flying into the wall, her dense body cracking the stone and a grunt escaping her grinding throat. She hissed and turned, wondering how she had failed to notice him until this moment.

Brigand smiled. "Oh my. Two gossipy women behaving very naughtily. Who shall I spank first?" Nhamo smiled dangerously. "Circe dear," she hummed "go on ahead to the roof, if you would. I'll meet you in a moment." Not needing to be told again, the girl turned and bolted. Because of all people, she had not wanted to face Brigand during their grand escape. He was _crazy._

Nhamo stood, popping her joints and sighing. The air around her crackled with malice and her eyes focused eerily. "That was very rude, Brigand. You're close to hurting my feelings." The young man smirked, sticking his hands in his pockets casually. "_Oui._ But you were rude enough to consider leaving without my company. Turning your back on your savior." Nhamo raised an eyebrow, launching a bundle of energy at the Frenchman. Any other and it would have blown them to little bits, but Brigand somehow sensed and dodged her attack.

"Savior? How so?" He grinned, and Nhamo detected the heat moments before her previous spot was engulfed in a miniature explosion. "I gave you a new life, _minette. _Despite your betrayal of your own species, I saw the good in you. The potential. And I brought you here to start a happier life." Nhamo dodged another rift of fire, flinging another tight ball of warped force that Brigand side stepped. It was very similar to dancing, she realized, both parties sidling and swinging about each other in time to the music of destruction.

"You are nothing to me. Seeing as I saved myself from myself, and I continue to do so," she hummed, ricocheting off a wall that was seared with heated smoke moments later. "Is that so? Sad." He leapt and twisted in order to avoid her whipped tail. He grabbed the appendage and used it to throw her, displaying more strength than she realized he had. "I was truly hoping you and I could get along until the time came to rule, _minette._" She hopped up and glared at him through slit eyes, curious, despite herself. "Meaning?"

Brigand shrugged, his mouth a soft smile. "You and I, we are not so different, no? Powerful and dangerous, beautiful in our destructive potential." Nhamo's tail wagged in irritation. "I have no patience for your circumlocution, bastard. Get to the point."

"Together," he raised a balled fist "we could rule this land. You and I, together as King and Queen of this barren world. We could abandon all that we were and seek out our futures. We are strong, growing in power by the day; someday we will have the strength to overthrow this fool," he spat "and yank this potential Utopia from beneath him. Our own personal paradise. You and I and the select few we allow to live once we destroy this world_._" He sighed longingly.

"Is it not meant to be? Are we two not as one in mind and soul? Gods such as ourselves should be bound no longer! We are meant to be greater than all this. You agree, no?"

Nhamo sighed, crossing her arms and closing her eyes. "No. Go fuck yourself." And a well-timed release of energy sent Brigand soaring to the end of the hall. "You dare _challenge _me? I'll tear this whole fucking world apart myself. I don't need your pathetic aid to reap massacres and sew death. I have been planning this solo, and a solo act it shall be." She lifted her chin. "Sit back and watch Armageddon from the peanut gallery, fool." And though she turned, intending to continue on her way to Van Kleiss' lab, she was halted by a deep chuckle.

"What a shame," it was deep and twisted, the foul play on Brigand's voice that Nhamo was of Cheshire's. "I really thought I could talk you into joining me. Love conquers all, does it not?" Nanites washed over her, many more than there had been previously. A hiss built in the feline evo's throat as she watched the twisted form of Brigand step from the dust. "But I now see we must build our future together on a lover's spat, no?"

Allison ran down the halls, calling as loud as she could.

Which, in her weakened condition, wasn't very loud at all.

"Dr. Holiday? Six? Rex?" Cold sweat stained her already filthy collar and her eyes were bleary with tears of relief and fear. "Please. Where are you?" How much could have changed in six months?

After an eternity of running, the young woman stumbled upon soldiers, looking spiffy and trim in their brand new black uniforms. She nearly wept from joy. "Thank goodness! I need to speak with White Knight! You have to-" guns cocked and leveled at her and her mind flickered blank for a moment.

"W-what are you doing? It's me! Allis-" they fired, the girl only saved by her instinctual creation of a portal. It dropped her elsewhere in the base, a dark, dim room with black walls. A woman in a black uniform sat behind a black desk, her black lipped mouth opening in surprise at the sight of Allison. The evo moaned, quietly, pained as she untangled her limbs. It would take time for her to reacquaint herself with her abilities, and though the hole in her chest had sealed itself she still felt a bone deep soreness between her lungs. It was too much for one day, too much, much, much, for an icky dreary day. She hated it, and this room, and this base, and this life, and _Nhamo._

The woman behind the desk stood from her seat, bringing the light of reality back into Allison's. "Oh my, this is unexpected. You must be-" But Allison didn't want to hear the rest. Providence had shot at her; they were bad now, very bad. No one could help her here. Large hands clamped themselves over her ears as another circle ripped its way open. She fled, ran to someone who was good and her friend and very clean and shiny.

Black Knight frowned deeply, listening to her radio light up with reports of a female evo roaming the base. "Stand down," she commanded. "It would appear that we need to update our files."

Nhamo groaned silently and lifted herself from the rubble, spitting and glaring meanly as her opponent approached again. The once handsome face of Brigand was distorted and stretched, a long muzzle protruding forth with white fangs hanging down. His body was a bulk of pulsating muscle and sinew, covered with grey fur and black eyes. Sulfur and smoke arose from his body in waves, like smells from rotten food, an unnatural looking smirk on his suddenly canine face.

"Come now, _mon joli chaton _(my pretty kitty). Surely you have more to offer than that?"

She hissed.

He growled in response.

She had analyzed his attacks by now, picked his powers apart. Judging by his responses to her strikes, Nhamo believed it was safe to say that the boy-monster lacked defense. He could not physically block her blows like she could his, and was forced to sidestep in order to avoid being injured. Contra wise to her powers –abilities that appeared to be based on pulling and pushing forces- his were solely destructive energy, all heat and flame. Yes, she had him quite figured out now.

But that didn't make him any easier to defeat. They seemed to be evenly matched.

She should have killed him when she had the chance.

They were both tiring at this point and had done a significant amount of damage to Van Kleiss' palace. Walls were crumbled, holes were created. Rumble appeared wherever they traversed and destruction lined their wake. Nhamo was quite finished with this battle.

"Before this concludes," she said aloud, her voice satisfied as she climbed to her feet. "I want you to know this is not a retreat, nor is it a submission. I have merely accomplished what I set out to do and no longer see the point in dragging this forward."

"Ah," Brigand growled incredulously, crossing massive forearms. "So you think to just leave now?" Nhamo smiled, blood in her mouth and in her nose and bruises on her body. Long gashes oozed on her opponent from where she had lashed back, and he was walking in a way that favored his right foot.

"Well, I sought vengeance in the most damaging way possible," she explained smugly. "I hate Van Kleiss, and of course, you as well. So I do believe I have satiated my lust for vengeance through this little spat. Our ongoing, highly distracting, spat."

"Such hypocrisy! To think you accused _me _of indirectness." Nhamo just laughed.

"Alight. The point is that I, or perhaps we, have destroyed Van Kleiss' laboratory."

And she left him to stew as she vanished quickly.

In their chaos and fury, they had burst through the floors and walls separating them from the mad scientist's most important sanctuary, and Brigand had been too lost in the moment to recognize what she was leading him to do. That the table she flung at him had been littered with small machines and beakers, his powers twisting and melting precious formulas and plots. They had brought the walls down on fragile instruments and carefully created schemes. She had tricked him, coolly and thoroughly, and though he had the strength and power to follow her, he had no inclination of where she had gone.

"Little minx," he hummed with a smile, quickly leaving before he was discovered.

Far above his head, on the roof of the castle, Circe was fighting off the filthy roots of Van Kleiss, the latter finding her in a rather compromising position. The creatures of the forest raged and fought each other blindly, the air saturated with snarls and the sound of ripping flesh and howls of agony. "Circe," her former leader said in a deadly calm "what have you done?" But there was nothing she could say, nothing she could do to save herself. His question was entirely rhetorical; his own twisted way of squeezing a bit of amusement from her before she died.

He was just playing with her. _Playing. _As his vines whipped and tore her pale skin, tripped and watched her try to crawl, beat and beat and beat her until all she could see was red and black dots littering her vision. Through it all she screamed, defended herself as best she could, winding her strength for her final act of defiance. When the time came, she was prepared. With his question came a break in his blows.

She leapt to her feet, ready to jump and plummet to her death rather than allow him the pleasure of ending her life.

She was surprised when powerful arms wrapped about her waist, the smell of rot, dust, and blood surrounding her as the castle vanished from beneath her feet.

Rex sat up with a start, chilled to the bone and sweating profusely as tears of pain gathered in his eyes.

_Help me. _The thought, so close and yet so far, was absolutely Cheshire. Her voice, her taste, her smell, everything that was her leaked from the words.

He had originally believed himself to be going crazy. He was haunted by nightmares nowadays, insomnia setting in as he faced the fierce what-ifs that could only be born of terrible dismay and denial. For though the others had solemnly, woefully, accepted the monster's words, he couldn't find it in himself to believe the burning force of Cheshire could be snuffed so easily.

"It was lying," he had shouted until his throat was sore, unjustly angry at Holiday's building tears and Six's mournful silence. "She's not…she can't be…"

"Rex…" he twisted away from Holiday's attempt to embrace him, because if he accepted her comfort than he accepted the thought that Cheshire was…that Cheshire was…

And she _wasn't. No._

He had become stubborn to an extreme point, allowing himself to very nearly caved once and only once. Dr. Holiday, good intentioned and convinced denial was going to kill him, attempted to talk to him about it. And she had almost persuaded him, enough that he was grinding his teeth and wondering aloud "why? Why can't I save anybody?" His mother and his father and Rylander. Those who were without a cure and those who were lost to evos he couldn't reach in time. What sort of hero was he?

Holiday shook her head and swallowed the sadness in her throat. "You can't save everyone, Rex. It's just not possible." He had leaned forward in his chair and buried his face in his hands. "No," he whispered, "but I should've been able to save her. At least her. I could've saved at least her. I couldn't…I should've…" they sat in silence, Holiday lost as to what to say and Rex quickly sinking. It took him a while to once again convince himself of the triviality of all this sadness.

_Cheshire wasn't dead!_

Even after six months, even after the great take over, he couldn't believe that she was gone. "She's okay," he mumbled into his pillow "I know it. I have to know it. I have to."

He would not give up on her, refused to beyond the point of all rationality. He held on despite the pain of a void too deep for comprehension. He embraced the agony as a way of staying close to her, of reminding himself that every day he wasted she was getting farther away. The idea of her was sliding further and further into the obscure. He did not want to heal if it meant giving up. Admitting….

She _wasn't._

And then the dreams came, memories of times they once had together. Her smile and laugh and eyes and voice. Little instances in which they would just sit in silence or lean on each other for support. These were worse than the nightmares, reminding him of what he had and what was lost. He lost the ability to sleep deeply and Holiday had been forced to prescribe him pills; something for a deep, blank slumber.

But this.

_Help me. I'm lost. _

That was her. So her. There was no one else it could be. And the dream with two Cheshires. One in his arms, another watching with dead eyes. "_I AM NOT ALRIGHT. But this is not over." _He heard her say that, watched her curl in one herself to comfort her own pain, watched as she twisted and changed into-

A bang at his door snapped him from his reverie.

"Rex." Six.

"What?" he couldn't keep the fatigue from his voice. He really didn't feel like going anywhere or doing anything anymore. "We have an evo tearing up downtown." He winced as a headache asserted itself. Why couldn't everyone leave him alone? "And?"

"You're going to want to see this."


	8. Chapter 8

**BB says: **I was so certain this would be placed under a hiatus. And it was! Even if it was only a minor break, I fear that my workload and the fact that I have accidentally joined three different clubs may come to inhibit my updates. So yeah. Sorry my honey bears.

**Rating: **Teen

**Disclaimer: **I own no part of Generator Rex or Lewis Carroll. Although I hereby stake my claim on the moon and stars.

**BB says some more: **I was thinking about upping this rating to M for…_adult _reasons. But I'm so nervous! It would be my first ever M rated story…

"_Well, when one's lost, I suppose it's good advice to stay where you are until someone finds you,"  
><em>

_~ Lewis Carroll_

She stumbled and fell through the portal, powers that were once as simple as breathing now foreign and forced in her clumsy hands. The smoothness of Cheshire's abilities in comparison had never been so obvious to her; she longed for the ease of transition the blonde evo offered. But since she wasn't Cheshire and Cheshire was gone and she had to find Cheshire she had no choice but to suffer through mounting dizzyness and the constant spin of floating in empty space.

THe evo almost believed she would never find her way out of her special place again. She almost believed she didn't want to. It was so soothing and peaceful; it was like a homecoming. Her special places had always been full of stars beyond man's sight and dimensions that people could only dream about. She had once brushed such things daily, twisting and bending them like molding clay between her inhuman hands. And now that she had returned she nearly forgot why she had left in the first place. What could there possibly be in a world of hurt and hate that would make her leave this place again?

_You are lovely. Muchy or lessy._

She landed in a tree. It was simple enough to escape and the memory of another occasion was not permitted to amuse her as she ran. She was so close to her destination she would not tempt fate and teleport again; she had already overshot it several times. She would not allow herself any more mistakes. She didn't have the strength for it.

She banged on the door, ignoring the bell.

Noah was at this broad, suburban home only occasionally but she wasn't sure if she would find him in the apartment with his mother. She had boldly and foolishly reached forth and gone to the first location to cross her mind. Their first meeting place. It was the brightest memory in her dragging mind.

Banged and banged and banged.

Perhaps he was back in the city. Perhaps she had appeared at the wrong location.

But at least where she was now held less of a chance that Providence would find her. The evo bristled at the thought.

She stopped. Her hand rested on the door as though to push it down.

She turned to walk away, deflated and rubbed raw by the events of the day. She wanted to stop wanted to quit wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep and sleep...

What could she do when she could do nothing when she was alone? Although she was now herself again for final and for real she could still do nothing but-

"Breach?" Noah whispered. THe girl stiffened, hardly daring to breath at the sound of his voice. A shiver ran down her spine at the sound of slippered feet hitting the porch behind her, a screen door banging shut. A shaking gust of air escaped her parted lips, dragging out a noise that was both a sigh and a whimper.

Noah's eyes were painfully wide. Breach? Allison?

She was coated in blood and sweat, black hair falling into her eyes and her lips cracked. There were hollows on her face and her feet were bare and raw from the rough run on the sidewalk. Her arms –four, Noah counted numbly, she had four- were limp at her sides, weighed down by exhaustion as her body was slowly curling in on itself. She looked ill. So sick and fragile he feared a gust of wind would take her from him once more.

Unable to help himself and not bothering to wonder at consequences, Noah reached forward and reeled her into his chest. She was stiff at first, unused to touch after six months of imprisonment. But her body was eager to respond to his actions; it only took moments for her to lean into him and breathe deep.

Clean. Soft. Safe.

_Noah._

"No," she mumbled into his chest, feeling him stiffen. Her voice had surprised him even more than her appearance. "Allison. I'm Allison. Just Allison."

The convergence of molecules occurred over the metropolis area, condensing and falling with the speed and power of a meteorite. Traffic screeched to a halt, horns rising into the air like a swarm of water fowl as tires screamed and burnt rubber was smelt. A traffic light was down and pedestrians on the sidewalk uncovered their heads to gaze in wonder at the sudden appearance of a hole in the middle of the asphalt. Curiosity was overwhelming with its horrid sweetness that tasted strongly of rot.

Many would later speak of a dread so powerful it froze them. Of a primal fear that seemed bone deep, seemed much too powerful to resist. It locked them in place like startled animals attempting to blend into their surrondings.

Circe was thrown back as Nhamo lost her grip around the girl's waist, both evos plummeting to the ground in seperate impacts. A parked car had broken the siren's fall and she supposed it was a miracle she wasn't dead. Despite the throb of pain in her side and the dizziness that came with striking one's skull the goth turned her gaze to the humans gathering in the street. Their slack jawed wonder and their ridiculously staring eyes. She wondered if it was too late. If they could still make it out of here alive.

"What are you doing?" she finally managed to hiss in a voice that would be construed as mean spirited. "Are you people stupid? Get out of here!" Her words went ignored as a gasp rippled through the crowd, promptly followed by a woman's scream. From the debris that had tumbled into the crater sprung an inhuman limb.

Dark claws dug into surrounding stone and broken pavement as Nhamo hefted herself to her feet in a lithe motion. She no longer had two arms but six, her hair messy and spinning about her in a dangerous looking halo of fire and brimstone. An internal light seemed to radiate off her, both beautiful and terrible in its surrealistic aura. The area between her cheeks and forehead was smooth and uninterrupted as Circe noticed, with a touch of horror, that the evo had no eyes. A thin lipped mouth that was barely discernible from behind the increased amount of "whiskers" on her face opened and shut as long glimmering fangs clacked together.

The remains of her dress had been torn away to leave her much larger body bare to the world. She had no breasts to speak of and her body seemed to be covered in a coarse fur the same color as her flesh, but it was still terrifying to see the beast standing in all her wrath. The last of her humanity seemed to vanish with her rags.

Nhamo snarled and roared, no longer bent over like she had been in Abysus but standing to her full height of nearly ten feet. If Circe hadn't known better, she would say it was a vicious howl of laughter that peeled forth from the monster's fearsome mouth. Three pairs of hands were palm upward as though to accept a heaven sent gift, a terrible face turned toward the afternoon sun. It all seemed too cruel for words. Such a demon, a monster, a beast, absorbing daylight like it belonged. Surely something like this belonged in tales of terror and darkness.

The crowds began to panic as their survival instinct finally hit their legs. They fled the scene as they caught sight of the creature from the crater and felt her attention land upon them hungrily. She could feel the dread in the air and it was incredibly satiating. Mice, all of them, fleeing back to their holes a the cat came home.

She gave them ten seconds.

Lie.

It was only five.

Her destruction was unbridled and wild, a massive force lashing out in an unseen wave. It pushed Circe back and destroyed several windows, people continuing to scream and run for cover as buildings began to crack from the blow. Nhamo smiled in amusement and released another wave before dragging cars into the air and slamming them into the ground, her actions barely missing the top of a young mother's head. Her toddler was weeping.

Circe watched as one of the cars sprung a leak and burst into flame upon encountering the sparks of a downed telephone pole. Several people became trapped between the flame and a broken looking structure that had once been a corner store.

Circe swallowed.

"Did I," the goth wondered aloud. She wasn't sure if Nhamo could understand her any longer or if speech was completely beyond the heavily mutated evo. "Did I help something terrible to escape?"

The monster turned her attention and Circe's breath froze vicariously. Flames danced behind the large evo as she grinned wolfishly. A brave officer was firing a gun at her back but was unable to break her rough skin. Fear filled his eyes as she snarled at him and lifted a hand.

There was no way to know what would have occurred then if a sudden scream hadn't forced the large evo back and away from the trembling human. Without missing a beat, Circe turned her mouth on the fire, subduing the snapping flames long enough for the trapped group to make their getaway. She longed to flee with them but stood her ground with a determination she had never known she possessed.

Nhamo growled at Circe. The goth felt a shiver of repulse race down her spine as the sightless face focused on her. They were now several decameters apart but it didn't seem nearly far enough for Circe.

She wasn't sure why she needed to stop her fellow evo. How this was any different from when Van Kleiss destroyed that city before, releasing his horde on the world. How this was any different from the destruction she had once supported as the necessary means to an end. How this was any different from the numerous times she had turned her back on howls of anguish and screams of wrath. How could this be different?

…it just _was. _

She believed in revolution, violence for peace.

This was just violence. Just uncontained hate. And she couldn't just stand here and watch it happen. She couldn't...she _couldn't..._

Nhamo's mouth twitched as though amused. She launched a moderate attack at Circe, tossing a fire hydrant casually like the girl wasn't worth anything larger. Circe dodged and screamed again. Nhamo was ready this time, blocking with a field of energy but failing to respond any further. Her head cocked to the side as she faced at Circe ponderously.

_Is that all you've got? _Circe jumped at the whispered words that crawled across her mind unannounced. Her eyes widened as she heard Nhamo's laugh echo across her skull and the large evo smiled until her mouth touched her ears. _How funny. Do you hate me? Aren't you going to kill me? You're going to have to try harder!_

"Harder, huh?" Sneered the siren with a confidence she didn't feel. "I'll show you, you psycho!" Typical attacks weren't working. Nhamo, damn her, was just too powerful for Circe to take down with her average strength. Not even hypnotizing her would work; she had once tried back in Abysus. It had almost cost her life. The larger evo had smiled in a cruel manner and grabbed the goth by the throat. She had warned Circe, razor fingers digging into the girl's tender flesh, that she hated singing. And anything that sang would suffer her wrath. Without further ado, Nhamo had cinched her grip. Harder and harder and harder. Circe was certain she would die, air kept from her lungs and brain. This was it. She would die because she let her curiosity get the best of her, allowed herself to wonder what would happen if she could get Nhamo to bend to her will.

Circe had been surprised when she woke up later on the stone floor, bruises on her neck.

The large evo stepped closer, moving predatorily. The siren took an unconscious stepped back and cursed herself for it.

No.

Circe could not die without at least wiping the smirk from the beast's face. Without doing something that meant everything to anybody.

Taking a deep breath, Circe locked her knees and squared her shoulders to harden her body. Her diaphram expanded as she took what may very well have been her last breath. Long red nails dug into flesh as her fingers curled; both in determination and to stop the shaking in her hands.

The goth leveled a screech that dominated all its predecessors, a wave of sound so powerful it lifted cars and set off any alarms that were still intact. The ground itself cracked into rubble beneath the howl, dogs from miles around bellowing in response and birds taking flight. Nhamo fought the waves, holding out until Circe thought her final attack would be for naught. It wasn't enough!

In the last moment, as Circe began to run out of both energy and breath, the larger evo was swept up to slam through a building. It collapsed around her as though seeking vengeance for fallen comrades. The rubble didn't move afterwards.

Panting, Circe allowed silence to comfort her.

_Did I kill you?_ she wondered briefly at the destroyed building, eyeing it as though it contained a monster. And it did. She dared to catch her breath, hoping against hope that she had done away with Nhamo before serious damage could be done.

Circe was suddenly assaulted with images so harsh it pained her, hands flying to her head as though a defense against an attack she had never felt before. She fell to her knees as horrors of her past were reasserted, memories that she had kept buried suddenly sharp and clear and flashing before her.

_She betrayed Rex._

_ Betrayed Sqwidd. And Tuck. And Cricket._

_ And Van Kleiss. _

_ And herself._

_ Why was she so weak? Why was she so ugly? Why was she so stupid?_

Tears filled Circe's eyes and grit her teeth. It was Nhamo. Who else could it have been? She had to resist. She couldn't let herself remain grounded because then the large evo would-

_I'll kill you now._

Circe sensed the presence above her. Distracted by her pain and anguish she hadn't noticed Nhamo creeping up until the evo was directly above her. The large feline evo had had enough from this toy. It was broken and uncoorperative; Nhamo simply couldn't see herself possessing the patience to deal with it any longer. Face dangerously blank, the evo extended a claw with faux gentleness. Like she only wanted to brush the hair that was caught in sweat and tears. Like she wanted to help the poor winded girl up from the ground.

This would be a blow that would tear the siren apart. Piece by piece.

_Slowly._

Bullets that held three times the force of the police officer's pelted Nhamo from the side, distracting her from the girl who took the chance to leap back. Circe recognized the gun toting troops who flowed in and allowed bitter relief to wash over her.

"Providence."

Nhamo cocked her head and flicked her tail in mock cuteness.

Clothed in black, the soldiers moved to surround the hulking mass of muscle and fury as she sent a wave of energy that slammed several soldiers into one another. Now that she was aware of their attacks she deflected them and launched pebbles with the force of bullets. Most of the Providence agents had the sense to duck for cover before they could be torn apart. Those who didn't move fast enough were lying on the ground, writhing in pain.

Re-thinking their tactic, the troops moved to back the evo into a corner, firing heavily without thinking about the blows they were not landing. It stunk of distraction, a diversion for a greater scheme.

Nhamo laughed a hollow, cruel laugh. She would mow them down without any thought. More jets, more men to throw at her. All firing and fighting like they honestly believed they had a chance against her. Six hands moved in unison, blocking and attacking with a grace that rivaled ballet. Her movements were graceful despite her dense body and the constant flow of power that blurried the edges of her frame.

She upended a tank and sent two of the aerial vehicles careening into each other just to hear the screams and smell the explosion.

Foolish efforts.

Just fodder for her amusement.

The evo felt the appearance of two more humans, ears twisting to listen to them. A woman and a man. The woman was talking fast to grant details of Nhamo's unending rampage. The man held a large object over his shoulder (...camera) and though he was shaking he seemed locked in place. Such loyalty was adorable! Especially when the woman seemed to be so ignorant of his discomfort.

Perhaps it would be amusing to tear off their heads. Or beat them to death with their own arms. Make their organs explode one at a time. So many possibilities and yet such fragile creatures. They would die before any real amusement was possible; it would take hours to find any sort of fun here.

Two tanks unleashed fire. One projectile she caught with her abilities and threw back into the nozzle of the weapon. The tank exploded but the evo wasn't satisfied; it had been automated. No men had died.

The second's fire exploded directly behind her. Distracted by the vibrations it caused, she dropped her shield for a brief moment and was displeased to find something that felt suspiciously like a collar attaching itself to her body. Crafty little bastards. She was quite impressed.

Black Knight watched the battle from above, safely observing from her spot in The Keep. The evo's powers seemed suspiciously close to those of the elusive Evo X, the one who was marked as DECEASED in Providence's database. Because there never was a cause for death noted, Black Knight had always held her suspicions about the true whereabouts of the elusively dangerous monster. The longer she watched the battle the more wary she became.

The reappearance of Breach, another DECEASED file, had made her question the authenticity of Providence's data under the control of White Knight. It was entirely possible that the other Knight had mistaken prolonged absence for death and slapped a label on the files before more questions could be brought forward. It was lazy and half-assed; much like Black always figured White to be. Especially when two dangerous creatures like Evo X and Breach were allowed to thrive beneath the thumb of Providence with nothing but _their words _as insurance of their loyalty. It was disgustingly unprofessional and Black Knight was content to alleviate that problem now.

It was essential for her men to capture this one alive, train it to remain under the iron grip of Providence and be studied closely. The monster could not live long, certainly not, but it would provide irreplaceable data on its abilities once the autopsy was performed. Perhaps its powers could be replicated and used for the greater good.

Black Knight allowed a smile to come across her face as she received the message she had been waiting to hear.

"Mission successful. Collar in place."

Allison had fallen onto Noah's couch after her shower, clothed in nothing but one of his shirts and a pair of his boxers. The shirt had been slit up the sides to accommodate both pairs of her arms and she wrapped the limbs about herself as though permanently chilled. After a moment of hesitation, Noah pulled her close to rub her back and warm her.

"Where have you been?" He dared to question after a moment of just listening to her breathe. "We searched everywhere. We thought…I thought…" More silence. The boy adjusted himself into a more comfortable position, pulling the girl further onto his lap.

"Abysus," Allison responded when it appeared as though Noah had lost his train of thought. Her voice was cracking. "Van Kleiss…took us. And…let _her _kill Cheshire."

"Cheshire? She's...dead?"

Allison didn't respond.

Noah stiffened as Rex's worst fears were realized, empathetic pain racking his body. So Cheshire was really gone. Snuffed like a candle.

Remorse and pain ripped through him, his heart falling at thought of telling his best friend the worst news conceivable. What could he do? He held Allison tighter.

He remembered how he had felt when Providence had informed him of Allison. How he had frozen under the sudden weight just before his spirit left his body to escape collapsed lungs and an imploded heart. In his sudden view of himself he saw a young man with wide eyes that were terrifyingly numb, inconceivable pain making his fingers jerk as though seeking a grip on reality. His mouth had opened and shut soundlessly because _what the fuck did they expect him to say_ to something like that? What could he do?

It had been in this moment, this little second of helpless agony, that he realized how much he loved the girl he now held in his arms.

Silly, perhaps. They were so young still. So naïve. They had only been dating a limited time, off and on, stealing small moments. But the thought of her vanishing and taking her shy smiles and laughter and quiet stillness with her…it was terrifying in a strangely hollow way. She would gouge out a piece of him.

And now Rex would be facing that pain alone. At least they had been comrades in their suffering before. Rex had fallen into severe denial and Noah had refused any social interaction. But the knowledge that there was another who was feeling the same blow had been morbidly comforting. And he thought that perhaps Rex had felt that way too. But not now. Not ever. Noah felt treacherous for daring to be this happy to have Allison back. Guilty for regaining life whilst leaving Rex to his darkness.

"Her?" his voice was pained but he spoke with determination. Because he had to know. Because he refused to be comforted by Allison's presence when Cheshire was…

"Who? Who killed Cheshire?" Because Rex would defiantly want to know. _Deserved _to know. Noah had no right to deliver such terrible news without having the whole story; he owed Rex that much.

Allison shook her head to shake thoughts free. The smell of her hit Noah in the face and he was all the more grateful she had returned to him.

Not that Rex could ever have that happiness. Not now.

"Who, Allison? You have to tell me who killed Cheshire." The girl gave a shuttering sigh but was spared her next words by the sudden interruption of the television. A news broadcast cut through the boring sitcom that had been playing beneath their whispered words.

An evo downtown was giving Providence a hard time. Buildings were rumble, cars were tin cubes, dust and debris lined the roads like the corpses of a battlefield. The camera zoomed in on a figure that towered above the men who dared challenge it, a snarl revealing sharp teeth beneath wriggling tenticles. A whip-like tail was snapped through the air as ghostly hair floated, lifted by an unseemly wind. Multiple arms, unnatural and yet so effortless on the evo, were drifting with movements that mimicked mechanical dancing.

"Her," Allison croaked accusatorially as she pointed at the screen. "She ate Cheshire." Noah felt his breath stick in his chest as he watched the creature. The camera was so close, too close. It was as though the news team wished to be detected.

A hole appeared, sucking both he and Allison into oblivion.

"You are mine now," spoke the lead man, the General on the field. The other Providence soldiers stopped firing as he stepped forward in authority. Nhamo listened to his approach, felt his slugging nanites grow ever closer even as her body failed to respond.

"Down." The collar around her neck gave a painful shock, tightening about her throat as though to choke her if she didn't obey. She could feel herself slipping as the machine seemed to invade her senses, commanding her forward in an attempt to force her under the will of her new "master".

Just thinking the word enraged her beyond measure.

Another shock ran through her, twice as powerful as the last. But the evo refused to bow to the pain, refused to grant this man the pleasure of having her under his control.

She was Nhamo.

Disaster.

Slave to no one.

The third shock threw her body to the ground, convulsions racking her body as foam began to form in her mouth. She growled up at the man hatefully, ire roiling in a way she hadn't thought these peons capable of inciting.

How dare they?

With a roar of fury, four hands latched onto Nhamo's unwanted accesory. She began pulling with all her strength, snapping and hissing with the effort. The soldiers began calling to each other, increasing the voltage and control within the collar's programming. Several more struck her, latching onto her arms and legs and waist. Nhamo would not bow, she would not bow, she _would not bow!_

She tore the first collar free and launched a claw forward to attack. The dodged but a sudden lashing of her energies blasted him back and into his men as she made quick work of the remaining collars.

Rex gaped at the wreckage that could have easily been caused by a natural disaster. He was in the largest airship New Providence offered and though it was no Keep, it was still efficient enough to bring on missions as a flagship.

"Casualties?" he asked Six quietly. The agent answered immediately, as though knowing the boy would ask.

"Zero, as far as we know. Providence arrived in time to prevent any extensive civilian harm."

"It's nice to know they're finally good for something," growled Rex irritably. A sense of foreboding had been following him ever since Six had first taken him from his room. There was something the agent wasn't telling him.

"Just what are we dealing with here?" He ventured, eyes daring the agent not to answer fully.

"It's a highly dangerous evo. Class two with the potential to go further," if the destruction below was any indication it may have been a one by this point. "It appears to be somewhat sentient and-"

"Fuck." Six raised his brow at the boy's language but immediately focused his attention on the ground below to see what had upset the young evo.

To see the bold and tall figure of the fiend destroying the city.

"Let me out," the fury that radiated off Rex was silent and hot. That monster. The one who…the one who…

_Help me. I'm lost._

"Let me out now, Six!" The agent knew better than that. Rex was quickly losing control; it was a mistake to ask him to come on this mission. He didn't seem able to heal from the loss of Cheshire, his wounds wide and begining to fester after half a year without her. There was no longer any light in the young man's eyes, all the energy zapped from his voice and actions as he simply went through the motions of living. It was as though he was now nothing but a wind up toy without his key. Limp and painful to look at, knowing what it had been when it was whole.

But Six had the good sense to know when backup would be needed on missions. Although he purposefully began taking more onto his own shoulders, at times going on missions solo in order to let the boy have his peace, there were times when he simply liked having the knowledge of someone watching his when he liked having firepower and force. This was one of those times. Hence Six's decision to bring Rex and Bobo.

And maybe, just maybe, he was every bit as furious as Rex. Maybe he wanted Rex to join him in destroying the creature who had dared to murder one of his charges. The creature who had twisted Rex into an empty husk of the sunny boy he had once been mentor to. Maybe he wanted closure, for both himself and this aching young man beside him. Maybe he thought it would somehow numb a _fraction _of the ache he felt when he thought of his former ward. How he couldn't stop thinking of everything he had never taught her. How he could have possibly failed her.

When she had trusted him so much.

How had this happened on his watch?

At this rate it seemed Rex would become more of a hindrance than an advantage.

"You're not emotionally stable," the agent deadpanned "your nanites-"

"Are fine! Let me out!" Six understood. Really, he did. But now was not the time to throw a fit.

"No."

Rex snarled dangerously. He placed his hand on the side of the ship, taking the controls from the pilot. In seconds he reprogrammed it to return to base, even as he turned to slice open the hull with his sword. The emergency seal lowered immediately but Rex was long gone.

Far below, Nhamo grew bored of her toys. She had lifted the entire division -tanks, jets, and their odd weapons that fired collars- into the air. They all circled Nhamo like she was the center of a storm, soldiers screaming and yelling in the powerful evo's control. Their precious weaponry and vehicles were slammed into buildings, their bodies nothing but confetti caught in a breeze. The evo sighed at the dullness of it all. They had lost her interest.

She supposed she should kill them now and move on.

The soldiers were dropped roughtly at Nhamo's thought. Dizzy and injured, they could only watch as their own weapons trained on the area between their eyes. She kicked at the remains of one of her collars, watching as it skid to a stop before her would be controller. She had purposely ensure he would die in front of her. She wanted him to see her face, know just how he died and who had killed him. She could feel the rage boiling on his skin and sneered as he continued to glare at her from behind the nozzle of a gun.

"Do it." She chuckled. He was fun. Shame he angered her so.

_You are mine now. _The lead man scowled harder as Nhamo purred into his mind.

_Down_.

She was knocked so hard it confused her. Untangling her body from the ground she felt about for her new opponent.

Controlled, calm nanites. A heart beating hard and fast with a fury that made Nhamo lick her lips hungrily.

Such_ rage_.

Such _hatred._

She longed to hold such a thing in the palm of her hand.

Rex. She remembered him fondly, but didn't have time to focus as he struck her again and slammed her into a precariously twisted streetlight. Old wounds immediately reminded her of their presence.

Blood in her mouth and bruises on her body from her previous battle with Brigand.

The building Circe slammed her into had sliced open weeping gashes.

The collars that had failed to control her had succeeded in damaging nerves; little spasms of pain raced through her limbs.

But Nhamo smiled.

Rex didn't hesitate as he brought out his energy axes. He surprised himself with his own calm, the coolness that allowed him to form weapons. But he was glad for it. He had promised himself that he would _destroy _the monster that had killed Cheshire. He would kill the evo if he ever saw it again, he would make it beg for mercy as he tore it apart and watched it bleed out. There was no Six to stop him, no Holiday to talk him down.

No Cheshire to soothe his fury.

He lunged forward and allowed his eyes to dim into dispassion.

The evo dodged and bared her teeth, spinning and kicking up debris that shot forth in defense. It was simple enough for Rex to defend himself, dropping one of his shields in order to bring forth his sword. He slashed in an effort to gut Nhamo but the larger evo lifted him and shot him away.

Rex stumbled and Nhamo went on the offensive, lifting a street light to throw like a javelin. The male evo caught it with a Smack Hand while firing the Slam Cannon with his other arm. It struck Nhamo in the stomach but the force was absorbed as she used her powers to manipulate the ball of pavement pack to the sender. Struck back by his own attack, Rex had no time to catch himself as Nhamo appeared before him and grabbed him by the collar. She slammed him to the ground once, twice, before skipping him on the ground like a stone on a pond. Spitting blood, Rex climbed back to his feet to come at Nhamo again.

She hissed and constructed a field for him to run into. As though sensing its presence, the boy evo formed his Punk Busters to leap into the air and land on top of the feline. Her powers protected her front but her back was slammed roughly into the ground, effectively winding her. Growling, she struck back harshly.

Noah was surprised to find himself in the center of a war zone, one of Allison's smaller hands clinging to him like she was frightened…

...even as her face spoke of determination.

The blonde returned his gaze to the fight before him, watching as Rex and his opponent seemed to be trying their hardest to tear each other apart. Each blow seemed to cause such bone deep pain it was a miracle they were still moving. The fighters shook Noah nearly as much as the fight itself.

Grunts of pain and howls of rage rent the air, both parties bloodied and bruised. Rex's face was a distortion of blind fury and anguish that opposed the mad enjoyment on the face of the evo. They seemed impervious to their torn flesh and busted mouths, dripping blood and spitting growls in such a feral way that Noah was forced to admit that evos were truly a species apart.

The blonde held his breath as the large black evo finally managed a blow so hard he felt it echo in the ground.

The evo held some sort of invisible force under its control; Rex was halted and slammed into a nearby wall as the monster grew frustrated with the fight. The strike was followed by a thrown car that broke the brick and sent the boy flying deeper into the building. The evo lacked mercy as it dragged the stunned Rex back out by the throat, slamming him to the ground and extending its claws. It almost looked as though it was going to rip the boy's heart from his chest.

"No!" Noah cried, but it was nothing compared to the gut wrenching scream that stemmed from his companion.

"_CHESHIRE!"_ The world seemed to pause as the large evo froze, blank face flying up as the tentacles on its face wriggled along the ground. Noah stiffened as the force of the evo's interest fell upon them, but Allison squeezed his hand.

Wait…

Did she call that thing Cheshire?

"No Cheshire! NO!" The evo was still. Its tail flicked and its nostrils flared. Cheshire? Cheshire? Who was Cheshire?

_Her voice. _

_ Allison's voice. _

Cheshire's felt a flicker of warmth enter her, the weight on her chest relaxing long enough for her to uncurl. She was in so much pain it was unbelievable. She couldn't remember what it was like not to hurt.

_Alive. _

_ Who I am and who I was. Compared to me, who are they?_ The girl mumbled from her platform. It bounced off the walls of her body as the question returned unanswered. Perhaps it was up to her.

"You can't kill Cheshire's favorite!" Allison cried, wrathfully wishing to hurt the mean evo. Nhamo straightened with a snarl. When she spoke her voice was more gravelly than ever; it was hardly distinguishable from the racket of a rockslide.

"Fool, Cheshire is-"

_ Friend of mine or lack of love? Hollow inside? Empty, empty? _Cheshire flexed her fingers. She watched them carefully, picturing them as they clung to broad shoulders and gentle hands. Huh. Would that be pain? Or was that before pain?

"I ate her. She is inside me. She is dead." Then why was Nhamo using her tongue to speak? The evo waved that thought away.

Noah moved to stand before Allison as the large black evo took a step forward. This was Cheshire? What had Van Kleiss _done _to her?

"Cheshire," he said in slow uncertainty as he eyed a nearby Providence issue. The gun was near, but there was no way for him to grab it in time. "Is that really you?" So close and yet so far. What would a single gun do anyway? Providence had been armed to the teeth and still ended up on the ground.

Noah flinched as the evo took another step. She moved agonizingly slow, studying their reactions in a curious sort of way. She knew there was nothing they could do against her in a fight, and Allison didn't seem as though she intended to teleport them out of there anytime soon. She was shaking so badly Noah actually wondered if she had the energy to create a portal.

The large evo clacked its teeth.

Noah would go down swinging. Even if it was...

The way it cocked its head to the side. It's powers. Hell, even the way it was studying them. Curious. Interested. Absorbing information.

"Oh my God," Noah's eyes widened in horror. "What the Hell did he do to you?"

_Lightening quick. Struck like shock. Fast and hard. _Cheshire dared to lift her head although it weighed a ton. Her arms were noodles but she forced herself to sit up, wincing at the digging ropes that held her down. It always hurt. She always hurt. But she didn't mind it as long as she could _feel _again.

"How dare you live when I left you dead? How dare you return now?" Nhamo clacked her teeth and ignored Noah, responding only to Allison. She lifted her hand, unaware that Rex stirred behind her. Or perhaps she did know. It didn't matter. All that mattered now was being rid of the nuisance she had left behind in Abysus. The face that caused a banished mind to stir.

_Amazement. Wonder. Who we are and who we were. If we are us, we are one. _

_ But I am me._

Cheshire was on her feet. Tottering but so angry and hurt she refused to fall to the plateau again. The chains still jingled on her wrists, tightening in their attempts to drag her back down. But she could not fall now. Not with images of Noah's alarmed face flashing in her head. Allison frail and exhausted. Rex a messy heap of injuries on the ground.

_NHAMO! _She howled angrily, voice dragging and ripping at her bonds.

Nhamo gasped at the echoing scream in her skull. It actually hurt her.

_You're being mean to my friends! Very bad kitty, Nhamo! Very bad kitty! _

"You idiot," the evo responded through clenched teeth. "Stay down. I'll take care of us!"

Cheshire barked a humorless laugh and flexed. Nhamo was surprised to feel one of her arms twitch.

Infuriated and inexplicably frightened, the large evo began focusing power in the hand she lifted to Noah and Allison. "I'll kill them! I'll not let them free you! They hurt you!"

_YOU hurt me._

Nhamo snarled as she was struck by inner pain so sharp she saw bright lights.

Cheshire had broken a rib with their powers.

Nhamo howled in agony, powerless against a force that propelled her into the air and away from the young couple below. An invisible hand was gripping the scruff of her neck and hanging her in the air.

_I'll kill us before you can kill them. _

The words were followed by whip-like lacerations appearing on Nhamo's body, Cheshire lashing and punishing while maintaining their stance in the air. Nhamo refused to submit and the clash of power escaped her body with a sound that mimicked a sonic boom. All loose debris was hefted into the air as the two forces battled for control. Items on the ground spontaneously burst into dust as Nhamo fought to be free and Cheshire fought to contain.

Those below the battlefield could only look on in wonder.

Noah rushed over to Rex in the lull, hand still clinging to Allison. "Rex!"

"Noah? What are you doing here?" His dull eyes fell on Allison. "Allison? What happened? Why are you an evo again?" Noah shook his head, deciding there was no time to explain. All in due time. "Are you okay Rex?" The evo winced and held his side, blood running down his face from one of several deep gashes. His clothes were severly torn and it was possible to see that his body was a motley mix of black and blue beneath the fabric.

"No. But I will be," the revamped hatred in Rex's eyes spooked Noah. "Once I kill that monster." Noah pursed his lips, wondering how to explain the situation. He wondered if it was actually possible to explain to someone that the person they were trying to avenge was not only alive, but evil. The blonde was saved the effort as Allison spoke.

"Nhamo ate Cheshire," she said as her eyes brightened with dizzying hope "but Cheshire is still here." Rex's eyes narrowed slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"She's still here! She's still here!" The girl chirped happily, looking up at the struggling form of Nhamo with a smile. She knew. She knew that Cheshire was still there! They just had to help her had to save her had to free her. "She's still here!"

"That evo, Rex," Noah clarified gently but sternly. "That evo _is _Cheshire. Van Kleiss…he did something to her. Made her this way. But she's still Cheshire somehow," he turned to Allison "right?" the girl nodded eagerly, reaching up a hand as though to grab Nhamo from the air. "She needs us to help her," she hummed. "She's lost."

Hardly daring to breathe, Rex felt the world fall away for a moment.

"Cheshire...? What are you guys talking about? That isn't funny!"

_Help me._

"You can't know that! This can't be Cheshire! Cheshire would never-"

"Nhamo would," Allison challenged softly. "Nhamo would eat Cheshire and break you and hurt me. But Cheshire wouldn't. Cheshire wouldn't because she was mine and I was hers and she thought I was lovely!" The evo leveled Rex with an intense stare that spoke more of profound wisdom than rambling maddness. "Thought _you _were lovely." Her gaze went back to Nhamo. "She wants to come home. Nhamo won't let her."

Rex stumbled to his feet in order to back away from Allison and Noah. He gazed at them in apprehension. Like he wasn't quite sure what to make of their words. Like they were out to hurt him. Why else would they be doing this? Mocking him like this? Wasn't he in enough pain without his circle of friends taking shots at him?

"You have to believe us Rex. Cheshire-"

"No!" The evo snapped, interrupting Noah. "Keep her name out of your fucking mouth! Just becasue Allison is back doesn't mean you understand. Just because _she's _here doesn't mean Cheshire is...is...that she's coming back! That _thing_ killed her! I saw the blood on its teeth! She's gone!" How could…how could…

Cheshire.

_I'm lost._

She had sent him a message. If it was her nanites, if Van Kleiss had just changed her nanites…

"Rex-"

"She _can't be! _She would have come back by now, she would have come back to us!" _Come back to me, _he thought resentfully _she would have come back to me._

"Can't you see?" Noah argued despite the pain on his friend's face. "She couldn't! There's something wrong with her, Rex. Something in her head, something that's messing with her. She's not Cheshire at the moment, in case you hadn't noticed, she's not the girl you remember! She can't come back by herself; she needs help. She needs someone on the outside to lead her back." Rex was resentfully silent and Noah lowered his voice. "Just think about it. Is it really so different from someone losing control when they become an evo? How many people have you cured? Haven't you seen enough mutations to be willing, even for a moment, to believe that what you're looking for is _right there?_"

Rex looked as though he wanted to hit something. Or cry. Dark eyes flickered up to the thrashing figured of Nhamo, watching her battle with an opponent he couldn't see. An opponent that seemed to be fighting with all they had.

_Cheshire?_

If it was her nanites…if Van Kleiss had just changed her nanites…

What if Allison was mistaken? Dare he even grasp this hope for the briefest of times, long enough to venture forth and expose himself to more anguish? He wouldn't be able to take it. He knew he couldn't. If he climbed back up that slipperly slope just to fall again...he would not be able to get back up. It would be over. If he healed that evo and it wasn't who he wanted it to be, he couldn't take it.

Nhamo snarled and pushed Cheshire back, surprised when the girl responded with even greater force to break a finger and another rib. An invisible blow across the face bruised Nhamo's cheek and she tottered in the air as another strike landed on the back of her neck. "Why are you doing this? This is what you always wanted! Fun! Freedom! All your pain was gone, all you misery! I can fix it all. The death of this world will be our new birth."

Cheshire shook her head sadly. _Selfish, selfish. What do I matter compared to everyone else? Compared to my friends?_

"They are nothing! They only watch as you rot away. They made no attempts to save you. They are only here to mock your pain."

Cheshire was getting tired again. And Nhamo was so powerful...

_I can't kill them. Even if I die. _She sighed. _I've never had friends before them. They are my family._

Nhamo didn't hear Rex's Boogie Pack, didn't notice the boy sneaking upon her until arms wrapped around her neck in a choke hold. Infuriated, she sent him spiraling away.

"Don't touch me!" she shrieked. "Stay away!" A weakened wave crashed into Rex but he flew through it, determined. It was much too watered down by the clash of Cheshire and Nhamo to do much damage, anyway. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Touch.

A hand clamped onto the arm shielding Nhamo's face, a cure flowing into her. Her other limbs jerked and stiffened as Rex slammed his lips into her mouth to cut off another shriek of anger. She tasted of blood and wrath, bitter and sour and dusty all at once. Rex forced himself to remember softness and the smell of grass and flowers.

Blue veins glowed on Nhamo's frame, black flesh becoming eerily incandescent. Her body began to break itself down painfully, bones and muscle twisting and bending as her skin became ethereal and the light of her own struggling abilities crackled over her stiffening limbs. Her powers condensed themselves, folding in to fit into her smaller body. Her injuries seemed to grow more severe on her shrinking form, pain reasserting itself as she was jostled from the inside out.

A final burst of visible power seemed to crack open the air and darken the sky. Nhamo released her hold.

Eyes opaque and open, Cheshire slumped in Rex's arms. The upsurge of emotion that rocked through him was too much for his jetpack to take; it began to crumble, sending Rex and the glowing body of Cheshire spiraling to the ground.

Enough of the Boogie Pack remained that Rex turned and landed on his back without any serious repercussions. His breathing was harsh and rough even to his own ears as his eyes ran over Cheshire's face. He didn't dare to believe who was in his arms, her body lit with the struggling energy just beneath the skin and her hair wrapping about him like a seperate entity welcoming him home.

He held her close to soothe himself and to cover her nakedness. She was as bare as the day she was born and no longer had all the coarse hair to protect her modesty. Rex whispered into her face gently, more concerned with her health than her body. "Cheshire? Cee? Gatita, _please..._" Her dull eyes shimmered. There was something wrong with them; everything was dark. But she could feel nanites, could feel arms wrapping around her as a voice whispered to her. A hand, still black but much softer and smaller, unsteadily hovered in the air. After a moment of blind hesitation it came to find Rex's face. Cheshire whimpered with an attempt to speak and her eyes rolled back into her skull. But her chest still moved. She still lived.

Relieved, Rex wrestled himself out of his jacket and laid it across her still form. "Cee," the boy curled in, still cradling her like she was the most precious treasure he possessed. He leaned to press his lips to her forehead, closing his eyes. Noah and Allison didn't dare interfere. The tension in the air was thick, the moment too fragile to shatter.

Allison's eyes widened at the sudden appearance of Circe, a presence that no one else seemed to detect. The siren's eyes were dark, her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched Rex and Cheshire. Watched Rex whisper gently to the unconscious girl like she could hear him. "You really are too much trouble, you know?"

"Yes. It is." Rex's gaze shot up to Black Knight, marveling at the woman's ability to make an appearance at the least opportune times. She was flanked by more of her men, all training their guns on Rex and Cheshire.

"What are you doing?" Noah demanded, frowning. Allison growled and held his hand tighter. She had been worried this would happen. The nasty woman in black who was in white's chair would come and try to make things hard and troublesome. And Allison didn't have much strength left; she didn't think she would be able to open another portal.

"Evo X is property of Providence. I am merely here to collect." Rex snarled at the woman's cool words.

"Cheshire doesn't belong to you! She doesn't belong to anyone!" The men behind Black Knight tightened their fingers on their triggers but the woman lifted a hand. "I don't want to fight you Rex. All I want is the thing you have in your hands."

"She's not a thing!" Circe snapped, surprising herself as she stepped forward. Her voice was a mere whisper from her fight with Nhamo, her powers exhausted from the battle, but she spoke with adamancy. "You can't just take her because she beat you guys!" Rex's eyes widened. What was Circe doing here?

"Evo X is a danger to itself and others. I think today was enough of an example of its unbridled ability to cause destruction. Allowing such a thing to run rampant without being contained would insult everything Providence stands for." The woman snapped her fingers and her men retrained their weapons.

The collar guns.

Rex flinched but without adrenaline to run on he was too weak to form any weapons. All he could do was glare at Black hatefully and pull Cheshire closer.

"Give Evo X to me, Rex. Or I will take you both. Or rather," her eyes roved over the group, noting Circe and Allison. "All four of you." Noah released Allison's hand, stepping between the Providence commander and his best friend. "Now what? You wouldn't fire on a human, would you?"

"Wouldn't I?" Black Knight drawled as the weapons began to light up. "Quite frankly I've always wondered what a collar would do to a normal person."

This was unacceptable. How dare the mean lady in the black and not white threaten Allison's Noah? She underestimated Allison on a level that would prove detrimental. And Allison-Not-Breach-But-Like-Breach was not going to do nothing. Just because she was tired and sore and tired and wanted sleep did not mean she wasn't going to try her hardest.

"_Mine," _the four armed evo hissed. Her single word held weight. Although she was sick and exhausted and really not sure she could do this. She grit her teeth. In another moment a portal had taken Allison and her friends to safety.

"Orders, ma'am?" Asked one of the soldiers behind Black Knight. Her face remained passive. Because this conclusion had been all too predictable. The presence of Breach had been a known problem to her plans. "Retreat. Care for the wounded. It's not as though we don't know where they're going."

Six was highly peeved by Rex's show of disrespect. The ship would be in repairs for hours thanks to the boy's tampering and the agent now had to board one of the smaller vessels to go be sure his stupid ward didn't get himself killed. What the Hell had Rex been thinking? This evo was obviously highly dangerous, blatantly hostile, and completely over the head of an emotionally compromised boy. He was going to kill that boy. Bring him back to life and kill him again.

Of course much of his irritation vanished when his idiotic charge reappeared through a hole that was very much the work of Breach. Rex fell flat on his back, followed by Circe, Noah, and an evo Allison in succession. They all moaned painfully, but Six's attention was immediately captured by the girl held in Rex's arms. She was limp and pale looking, dust in her hair and blood drying on her skin.

Cheshire.

"Hey, Six," the boy said in a breezy manner the agent hadn't heard in months. "We're home."

The next few hours required a great deal of debriefing. So much so that White Knight barged into the med-bay while the team of nurses treated injuries, the former head of Providence demanding answers from all in the room. Dr. Holiday was floating on air from recovering Cheshire and actually allowed a bit of (minor) questioning before sending her superior officer away again.

The young doctor was humming, a strange sight even before Cheshire's disappearance, and there was a content smile on her face as she ran her scans. Cheshire was a mess, a heap of fractures and lacerations and bruising. Her pulse was dragging even as her brain scans leapt off the charts and her fingers twitched reflexively. Her face was in a stiff frown and she didn't respond to any form of stimulation. Her eyes were severely damaged, and Holiday wasn't sure if the girl would actually be able to see upon waking. Her retinas were fragile, like those of a child in utero, like this was the first time they had ever been formed. They were so fragile Holiday had the fear the girl would damage them without realizing she had done so.

To any other doctor this patient's readings would have been a nightmare. Cheshire would be a girl doomed to suffer permanent damage to both brain and body. Blindness, anemia, and severe mental handicap. A normal person would be under the risk of becoming, for lack of a better term, a vegetable.

But as the doctor ran scan after concussive scan, she noted a slight change in the girl's charts.

She was regrowing her _eyes. _Slowly.

Cheshire's healing ability never ceased to amaze.

Cheshire was different. And that was what kept Dr. Holiday happy even as Cheshire remained persistantly in a coma. The girl was back. And she was alive . And as long as she was here, under Dr. Holiday's care, she would heal.

The moment he was cleared Rex ran to Cheshire's bedside, planning to stay until she woke. She looked so fragile. So hurt. He could only imagine the Hell she had gone through, the torture that had led her to become something so much nastier than what she truly was. He had known Van Kleiss was a monster, a psychopath but this seemed so…so _cruel. _It almost felt as though the crazy man had broken some unspoken code of conduct, some rule that Rex had known never existed and yet seemed ever present.

The young evo wished he could call foul. And smiled bitterly at the thought of doing so. Damn it. There were no true rules of war.

"I see it now," Rex couldn't help but flinch as he heard Circe's voice behind him. The med-bay was nearly empty; he thought he had been left alone when Noah snuck off to be with the slumbering Allison. The young woman had overextended herself and was in a deep, trance-like sleep. Dr. Holiday had left to continue an interrupted experiment and Six, every sensitive to atmosphere, had vanished.

"Circe." It was all Rex could say in his startle. This day had been surreal enough without his ex (if ever) girlfriend and former captor (in a way) sauntering up behind him. He didn't even stop her as she pulled up a chair on the other side of Cheshire's bed. They sat in an awkward silence, listening to the monitor beating in time with Cheshire's heart.

Rex thought it was the most beautiful music he had ever heard.

"She was my friend. Nhamo. In a way." Rex looked up but didn't comment as Circe spoke. "I mean, she was crazy. And violent. And cruel. I used to wonder why the Hell I would consider her worth being friends with, worth listening to. What was so fucked up about me that I was so insistent on finding people to tear me down," the goth sighed and, to Rex's surprise, she reached for Cheshire's unclaimed hand.

"I guess I know now right? Know that I've been hanging out with someone I can't fucking stand." She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes.

"God, I'm so _relieved._"

Because this meant she was getting better. Whatever was so wrong with her that she sought out people to hurt her must have been healing if she had _finally, _though unconsciously, made friends with someone decent.

Someone so great she had spirited Rex away from Circe's grasp.

The goth gave a choked laugh at the aching memory.

"I don't know if she'll remember what we were," she whispered "or if she'll want to still be…whatever we were. But damn if I don't hate the psycho bitch a Hell of a lot less right now."

Rex was silent as he searched the siren's face. All he found was sadness, remorse. It made her really hard to be mad at.

He sighed. "You…you'd be surprised," he finally said, rubbing the back of Cheshire's hand with his thumb. Circe looked up at him with a strange expression. Something between amusement and resignation. "At how nice she can be. She loves having friends to talk to. Just look at her and Allison. They're best friends despite their past. She has a lot trouble staying mad at people." Rex gave an uncomfortable little laugh. Circe didn't even smile. "I think she would love to be your friend, Circe. She wouldn't shoot you down if you asked politely. Just…don't be surprised if she tries to fix you." He shrugged. "You're a little…fucked up. To put it nicely."

It was then that Circe let go and broke down. Sobs from deep within her soul that had spent years building had now come to the surface and sought freedom. She wept for the loss of her home in Abysus. She wept for what she and Rex never had. The friends she left in Hong Kong, the family she had forced herself to forget and now longed to see again. But most of all she wept for herself.

Rex watched her crumble and thought, rather meanly, what an ugly crier she was.

Perhaps he hadn't forgiven her fully.

But this moment, with Cheshire by his side, was too perfect to ruin.


	9. Chapter 9

**BB says: **I feel like I should update my other story as well. You know, _Acquired Taste_? I haven't updated that in even longer than this puppy and that's saying something.

**Rating: **Teen. But I'm definitely upping it to M in later chapters. Don't worry; I'll put up a warning for anyone with delicate sensibilities…not me. I will enjoy writing it *3.

**Disclaimer: **Nope...okay, I own no part of _Generator Rex_. Happy now?

"_I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again."_

_Lewis Carroll_

The machines whirred, even at rest, as the last customer left the building. Their internal cooling systems were old models that still required fans to operate correctly; as such anyone walking beside the games would be blasted in the legs by warm air. This was not entirely unpleasant when one considered the early chill of autumn that lay just beyond the doors. It had gotten freakishly cold very suddenly in the past few days, and while the young woman liked winter weather she was caught off guard when she needed to wear mittens in October.

Beverly Holiday yawned and checked her watch. Well, at least she would be getting out on time. She snorted and pushed one of the many Halloween decorations out of her face. The arcade, like most other places, had taken to putting up festive little monsters prematurely. Beverly had been stapling and gluing fake bats and witches' hats all week. But now it was Friday. Time to return home and study for that blasted physics test on Monday. Her first semester at the local university and she was already getting tired.

Maybe Rebecca would help her?

Beverly snorted. Unlikely. Her older sister had been crazy distracted at work for, like, the past month. Few months. Whatever. The elder Holiday sibling had been practically brain dead, her job moving and changing and Rex suddenly becoming nonexistent. Beverly hadn't seen the friendly evo in _forever. _Not even to come and attempt to beat the games. Bev had worried herself in the first few weeks, wondering if it had been that one, little kiss, that had sent the boy running for the hills. As insulting as the thought was, she honestly couldn't think of any other reason for him to vanish so suddenly.

Upon asking Becca, the older woman had granted her sister a very strange look. It looked like she either wanted to cry or scream. She did neither, opting instead to break into strange hiccup laughter that brought tears to her eyes and scared Beverly to death. She had asked her sister, again and again, what she was missing. What was going on at Providence or The Plant or wherever the doctor was working now to make her so crazy. To keep Rex from leaving. What was going on?

Dr. Holiday just shook her head. "It's nothing Bev. Don't worry about it."

But worry the younger Holiday did. Despite the fact that no one knew what was going on (or at least didn't want to tell her) it kept driving her crazy. Months later she still found herself wondering about it from time to time, trying to pick apart the puzzle with the infamous Holiday brain.

It didn't work. And it pissed her off so much she forced herself to let it go. Fine! If they didn't want to tell her, she didn't want to know!

Beverly tugged on her jacket aggressively, mumbling to herself discontentedly. This most certainly called for a coffee, as she would not be able to survive a night of studying otherwise. Although she could always put off studying until the weekend…

Nah. She was going clubbing this weekend. And procrastination had gotten her in trouble before.

She shut off the lights to the building and clocked out. The doors had an automatic locking system, which she armed. The sidewalk was abandoned this time of night and she rubbed her arms to spark heat. Damn it. Next time she was dressing in layers. Turning to walk to the bus stop, she felt a chill that had nothing to do with the night sneak up her spine.

Sometimes she wondered if there wasn't still a bit of evo left in her. It was like she had been shrunk down while still maintaining a few extra senses, a few extra bits that activated themselves seemingly at random. A growl would appear in her throat. She would attempt to lift things _way _beyond her weight class. And she could sense encroaching…not necessarily _danger._ Maybe a potential threat was a better way to describe it. Something that was out of place in the air and demanded her attention. Either way it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention and her pupils dilated as though to gain extra sight.

The street lights ahead of her flickered, their straight yellow beams bending like heat rising from asphalt. An odd tang entered the air, a sharp crisp smell that one might detect after a lightning storm.

Ozone, Beverly remembered her sister telling her.

The lights began to die, blinking out one by one in a straight path that led up to Beverly. It was like a bad horror movie, she thought, eyes wide, and she was almost prepared for a monster from the deep to drag her into the encroaching shadows. But her legs wouldn't run. The evo inside her refused to back down. Or maybe that was just the Holiday in her? The air grew heavier and Bev took an unconscious step back as mist began to gather and a figure dropped from nowhere.

A really bad horror movie.

The shadows ended at the figure's back, and it dared not come into the little patch of light that remained above Beverly. She couldn't see it very clearly, but it seemed to be a girl. No, a young woman, about Beverly's height. What she could only suspect was hair was lifted from the girl's neck in a flurry of white, held and tossed by a wind that didn't exist. An ivory dress seemed to glow even in the dark of the shadows, and two shining eyes that were an inhuman shade of electric blue stared ahead sightlessly. She noted with a hint of horror that the other girl was hovering an inch off the ground.

They stood there, Bev and what she suspected was a ghost, staring at each other curiously. She jumped when the apparition moved forward, stepping (floating?) into the little pool of light.

Beverly stifled a gasp of horror. The other girl was very obviously an evo, light catching black skin. Her eyes were slanted in a way that reminded Bev of a cat and she had feline ears to add to the allusion. The young Holiday wasn't quite surprised to spot a _tail _of all things whishing through the air behind the evo. She stood frozen as the evo came even closer, nostrils flaring and blank eyes completely missing the girl in front of her.

_She's blind,_ Beverly realized with a shock _she can't see me._

As though hearing the girl's thoughts the evo snorted, a smile curving onto her face. It wasn't wrathful, or even wicked. It was friendly, and Bev felt her muscles relax somewhat. The evo came to stand on the ground soundlessly, bare feet padding on the cracked pavement as she smiled even wider and the light bounced off of white teeth.

"I never noticed before," her voice was innocently observational, and Beverly wondered at how normal she sounded. Like a girl one would meet on the streets any other day. "But you smell almost like Miss Holiday. Are you related?" Beverly blinked in shock but answered. "Yeah. She's my sister."

"Really? You're Beverly?" the evo was shocked. "She's mentioned you before, but I never got around to speaking with you."

"But you just implied we've met before?" The evo cocked her head to the side. "I did?"

"Yeah. Remember, you said you 'never noticed before'. Doesn't that mean we've met?" A blonde head rocked from side to side. "You misunderstand. I've met you, but you haven't met me." Beverly frowned in confusion. "But that doesn't make sense."

"No? The world has no sense, so why shouldn't I make some?" Beverly sighed. Of course the evo was crazy; just her luck, really.

"Tell me, Beverly," the evo kept speaking as though nothing was wrong "how do I look today?" Beverly wondered if she could run from the strange female evo. She seemed too friendly to be of any real danger, but insanity in and of itself could be just as dangerous as sharp teeth and claws. However, if the evo was really that dangerous, would Rebecca have associated with it? "What?"

"How do I look? I'm a bit blind, you see." The evo waved a hand in front of her own face in order to prove her point. "So I had to get dressed in the dark. Do I at least have everything on straight?" Beverly looked the evo from bare feet to bare head, taking in the fact her dress didn't have sleeves and goose-bumps were forming on her dark skin. "Yeah. But you look cold."

"That's because I am. It's cold tonight."

"I know. I feel." They stood in silence a bit longer, the evo shaking noticeably but burning holes into Beverly with her sightless eyes. They were somehow…sad. "Hey," the evo jumped and moved to take a step back. Beverly wondered at the fact that the other girl seemed to be just as weary of her. "I was about to go get some coffee. Do you want to come?" The careful smile shook a bit, finally falling off. "Not really. But if that extends to tea, than I would love to. Thank you."

The alarm never went off. And the camera didn't catch anything. Because of that, it was natural to assume she didn't leave the room and, being herself, that wasn't such a strange thing.

Cheshire didn't have to leave a room to escape.

Dr. Holiday had finally shooed Rex from the Cheshire's bedside, forcing the boy to shower and eat and catch up on all the necessities that were necessary for a human to continue functioning. And though Rex had grumbling and growling in a cranky, sleep-deprived way, he didn't resist. It wasn't like Cheshire was going to get up and walk away.

As it appeared she had.

It couldn't have been more than five minutes. Between Holiday dragging Rex to the door, sipping her coffee, and picking up her clipboard, Cheshire disappeared. She had made the bed and everything; not even a dent remained in the pillow.

Holiday wasn't sure what worried her more. That the girl was gone or that she was now wandering about as naked as an actual cat. She hadn't been clothed when she arrived in Holiday's care, and the doctor hadn't seen the need to clothe the unconscious girl. Until now, of course. She should have known something like this would happen.

They spent the rest of the day searching the building, combing the grounds for evidence of where Cheshire might have gone. That is, if she had chosen to make a pit stop before completely vanishing. Because if she had troubled herself enough to pull her disappearing act, for what reason would she simply appear in another room within in the same building?

She was nowhere to be found. Of course. Cheshire had taken her leave without as much as a goodbye to the worried people she left behind. It was so irresponsible, so ridiculous, so incredibly absent mindedly inconsiderate Holiday saw it as a sign that the girl was healthy. On the mend. If only the others could see it as such.

A forlorn silence overcame the search party as they met up in the hall, no one quite wanting to admit their respective dead-ends. Noah was carefully looking off to his side, perhaps where Allison would be standing if she weren't asleep. She was still recovering from the excitement of the past week. Circe was staring dead ahead, her gaze challenging. Holiday felt as though the girl had only agreed to help to get herself back into everyone's good graces. She still had a ways to go.

Six was harder to read, accredited to his sunglasses and their magical ability to completely hide his emotions. But Holiday knew his face well enough to read it. He was stressed by his whole thing, his mouth thin and his nostrils flaring. She was sure his eyes were hard and glaring behind his mask.

Bobo was wearing his usual "who gives a damn" look but there was no way he was unaffected by this whole thing. As the one creature in the room that could actually _smell _stress, it was simply impossible.

And Rex. Holiday bit her lip and averted her eyes. The look on his face was torn. It was concerned, to be certain, but there was an overlying look of confusion. Like he was in a state of disbelief. She could practically see the question on his face, one that had a very strong chance of twisting into pain.

_Why did she go?_

_ Where did she go?_

Holiday sighed through her nose.

"We can't think of the worst. We have to believe that she not only had a reason for leaving, but that it was good." Holiday spoke to break the heavy silence. "This is _Cheshire, _we're talking about here-"

"Is it?" Holiday shot Six a glare before bouncing her eyes off of Rex meaningfully. Six ignored the glance and continued speaking. "The character we saw displayed in Nhamo wasn't just another evo. It wasn't a feral rampage caused by an animal. This creature, Nhamo, had a mind. It was calculating. It could think. And if it thought to escape from us, it simply would." The air grew heavier, Holiday frowning intensely at the agent.

"Nhamo wasn't just another monster. She was _crazy,_" Circe spoke in agreement. "Everything she did…everything she said…you could tell she was smart. Just not in a good way. She was really manipulative and mean spirited. She liked to hurt others, she liked to…tear them apart." The siren shook her head and looked at the floor. She had had her doubts from the start, but only now found the voice for them.

"Do you think you could have failed? That you didn't bring back Cheshire and just shrunk down Nhamo?" It was the worst possibility, but it wouldn't be denied. No one could say it wasn't a valid point to be made.

"No." Except Rex. He always seemed to want to fight against the obvious. "That was defiantly Cheshire. I can't tell you how I know, I just _do._" He looked around at those joining him in the search, eyes challenging. "I don't know why she left or where she went. But the girl that I carried back can't be anyone else. It's just not possible." He could still see the look in her sightless eyes as she gazed upon him, the feel of her hand –gentle and warm- as she touched his face. He could see she was in pain, see the confusion on her face and the exhaustion in her eyes. Cheshire.

"Rex is right," Noah piped up and Rex looked at him gratefully. "Cheshire fought too hard not to have won against Nhamo. And Allison would have been able to tell the difference." He hoped. For Rex's sake. "Just because Cheshire disappeared doesn't mean anything. She likes her privacy. And waking up in med-bay probably spooked her. I'm sure she'll be back." Holiday released a breath when Six didn't allow his next comment to slip free. She assumed it had something to do with Cheshire's mental state after over half a year of imprisonment. A time so damaging it warranted building another persona.

Multiple personalities didn't just vanish.

The young doctor tried to smile, but found she couldn't. "Well then our searching isn't going to help us. If Cheshire doesn't want to be found today, we aren't going to find her. Let's stop for the night."

The evo sipped her tea cautiously, and Beverly was amused and surprised at how dainty the action was. Despite her claws and empty eyes the evo seemed fully capable of helping herself. Bev had received a raised brow when she offered to put the sugar into the evo's tea, and a brief smile followed her offer to read the menu. It appeared as though the evo had been here before, or perhaps she knew enough about hot beverages to know which were served where.

"So," the evo drawled, bringing Beverly's attention back to their table. "You work?" Bev shrugged. "Yeah. Just a part time job for the little expenses. I mean, I live on campus and stuff. But I have to pay for my own toiletries and clothes and all that jazz. It can get really expensive." The evo nodded as though she completely understood. There weren't many people out and about this time of night, but a few were drawn to the little twenty-four hour café in which they now sat. They were shooting weary glances at the black skinned evo with bare feet and an empty gaze, but because it didn't seem to bother the girl, Beverly didn't let it bother her either.

"And you? I mean, do you work or have hobbies or…whatever?" the young Holiday lamely covered the foot in her mouth with a sip of her latte. "No," the evo didn't speak with sarcasm although there was a touch of amusement in her voice. "Or yes. I haven't decided yet. It's very hard for me to stay in one place, Beverly. So I can't say whether I will or won't because I might and can."

"Right." Bev rolled her eyes. "It must take a lot of effort, talking in confusing sentences like that." The evo grinned widely, showing sharped canines on the edges of her mouth. "Why no, not as much as you might think. Otherwise I wouldn't bother." The evo played with the string of her tea bag. "No matter what I do or where I am, my mind keeps moving. It never quite stops for a breath, even when my body isn't quite itself. So in the past when I have been incapacitated and incapable of stretching my legs, my mind was wandering and formulating the structures I present to you today." Beverly blinked.

"Are you just saying you never stop thinking? I don't think anybody ever stops thinking." The evo hummed. "Thinking? No, people never stop doing that. But _seeing? Observing? _Observation is not so common place in today's world. You would be surprised to find that it is as rare and twice as valuable as gold." Beverly puffed up, mildly offended by the arrogance of this evo. "How can you say that? What makes you so important that you think everyone else is stupider than you?"

"I didn't say that. I said the mind-"

"Whatever you said, it was really rude." The evo pouted. "Why do people think me rude or odd when I speak my mind's truth? To me, you are the rude ones for trying to stifle such a thing." Bev frowned. "It's your own fault if you're always saying stupid stuff like that. People tend to get agitated when you question their intelligence, truthful or not."

"So you admit to the truth of my statement?"

"No! I didn't say that!"

"Would you like an example than?"

"Excuse me?"

"Would you like an example? I haven't stopped thinking recently, although I'll let you know when I do." The young Holiday slapped the table in agitation, regretting her invitation to tea and coffee. "Fine! Whatever." The evo smiled gently and closed her eyes. She couldn't see but Beverly had the feeling it was more for show. "Ask me a question, Beverly," she hummed "anything about the room we are in." Beverly rolled her eyes for the second time. "That's no fair. You can't-"

"See? Yes, not at the moment. But that doesn't matter. Ask away." Beverly sighed. "Okay. I'll try not to ask anything like colors or whatever." The evo shrugged, sipping her tea. After a moment, Bev spoke again. "Okay, someone is about to turn on the jukebox. What gender are they?"

"Female. Our waitress. She is walking with a slight limp…possibly suffering from feet troubles. Remind me to recommend a rock salt foot soak before we leave." Beverly frowned, because yes, the evo was right. "Okay. How many people did we pass on the way here?"

"Do you even know?"

"That doesn't matter, does it?"

"Eight. Three men, judging by how close you got to me at those points, two women and one family. I couldn't tell you the age of the parents but the child was small, if their footfalls are any indication. And I felt a shift of air, possibly caused by a skirt…either the mother's, or the child was female." Beverly frowned even deeper.

"How many people are in here with us?"

"Six."

"Nope," Beverly was ashamed of a victory gained over a blind evo, but she enjoyed knocking her down a peg. The evo didn't seem to be offended. "Am I? Someone is leaving." Her comment was immediately followed by the sound of the door opening and shutting behind the lone man who had been seated in the back booth. Beverly hadn't even noticed him get up.

"How did you do that? You can't even see!"

"The real question is how you didn't when you can." The young Holiday stood abruptly. "Well this has been fun, but I'm tired so-"

"Beverly," the evo's voice had lowered an octave. It was no longer carefree and sweet but somewhat hard. Interrogating. "What is it like…to be normal?" Beverly scowled the question. "What are you talking about?"

"It's a simple question. Is it fun? Being normal that is. I bet everyone just loves how completely average you are."

"You're crazy," Beverly snapped. "And you don't make sense. I hope you brought money with you, because I'm not paying for your stupid tea!" The evo ignored her and Bev wasn't sure why her feet refused to stomp away like she wanted. She wanted to leave but the evo had reopened her eyes and pinned the girl with a hard look. Beverly felt as though she was being carefully observed by those blind eyes. "Does he like it?" The evo stood and Bev felt the hackles on the back of her neck stand up. "Does who like what?"

"You seem sane. In a good way. I like that. I like you."

"Does _who _like _what?_" Beverly barked, slowly growing weary of the evo once more. The creature tilted its head to the side and wrenched its eyes shut. Dark hands clenched into fists and white ears flattened themselves against white hair. If Beverly had to assign the evo a look at that very moment, she would say that she looked pained.

"Rex," she finally sighed, voice so soft Bev almost didn't catch it. "Rex Salazar. Does he like how normal you are?"

"How should I know if Rex likes it or not?" The evo's nostrils flared. "You should know."

"I don't."

"Why?" Beverly didn't know how to respond, spared the need when the chef interrupted. "Is there a problem here?" He asked haltingly, the waitress cowering behind him as he waved a spatula. "I don't want no trouble, ladies. Take it somewhere else." Beverly glared at the evo from over the meaty chef's arm that separated them.

"I don't know how you know Rex. But my relationship with him is none of your business." The evo let out a humorless chuckle. "No. It is not. But you know how cats are with curiosity. So I'll make this easy and ask a yes or no question." The ignored chef didn't know what to do, and whispered for the waitress to phone the police. Or maybe even Providence.

"Are you single, sweetheart?" The sap of the evo's voice was cavity inducing. Beverly glared at her but was nowhere near fast enough to dodge. The evo had pushed the chef out of the way -the portly man stumbling back a bit at the shove- and wrapped her arms about Beverly's stiff body. It was gentle, like an embrace, the evo's nose buried in her neck.

"What are you doing?" The surprised Holiday questioned awkwardly, surprised at the sudden display of unbridled affection. The evo shrugged. "I'm hugging you, silly girl," she murmured. Beverly blinked. "Why?" The evo sighed.

"As a cover for the fact that I'm smelling you," the evo pulled back, sightless eyes dancing. "And no, you are not currently dating Rex Salazar." A smile overtook her face, one that Bev noted made her face light up. It was in that second she realized the evo had been granting her faux contentment the entire night, only noticeable at the appearance of the genuine. She could only watch, mute, as the evo sashayed past her. "It's been fun Bev. I'm serious you know. I really do like you. And considering you're Miss Holiday's sister, I hope we can be friends."

Beverly suddenly felt as though her horror movie had ended with the lamest twist ending ever. "What…who are you?" The evo hummed. "It would be a lie if I said Batman, so I suppose you have to call me Cheshire." A bright smile flashed over its shoulder. "Or Cee, if you like." And, right before Beverly's eyes and the eyes of everyone in the room, the evo vanished.

They were somewhat surprised when the singing started. They were about to disband the search for the night, leaving their current meeting place in the middle of the hall, when the showering that had been going one since before the meeting began was accented by a voice. It was distinctly feminine but low, the words clear but the singer pitchy and flat. It was an old song by an old band from nearly sixty years previous. They had dismissed the running water as background noise but the voice had caught their attention when the shower stopped. The group loosened a bit, the obviously talentless songstress helping to alleviate the stress that had been compounding.

"Some people just don't deserve record deals. Right Rex? Rex?" Noah looked at his friend, hoping to coax out a shaky smile or even an insincere chuckle. But the evo's gaze was leveled at the door to the female showers, glaring like he could see through the walls. "Alright," Holiday reiterated her former statement with a gentle smile. "Get some rest everybody. We can look again tommor-" the door flew open, the fog a testimony to how long the hot water had been running.

Cheshire ended with a very high note that she had no chance of ever hitting. Ever.

An exceedingly awkward moment occurred as she inadvertently entered the meeting of her search party, water dripping into her eyes as she wore nothing but a towel and shower shoes. She couldn't see the gazes digging into her but could feel them clearly enough; her tail twitched in unease and an uncertain smile wormed up her face.

"Hey guys," she finally chirped awkwardly into the silence. "What's stirrin'? What did I mi-" Rex was upon her before she could complete the sentence, wrapping her in a hug that could crush a car. She gasped as his lips ran into hers gracelessly. It hurt and Cheshire let out a little noise of disapproval, twisting against him in an attempt to get more comfortable. She made to pull away, perhaps to breathe, but the male evo made it clear that he had no intention of letting her go. For the moment, she succumbed.

She responded gently, trying to calm him down and convince him that his desperation was making it difficult to accept his affections. He relaxed a bit in her arms and she smiled into their connected mouths. They quickly forgot the eyes of the group behind them (although Bobo hooted) and the fact that Cheshire was dressed in a rather unseemly manner. Rex didn't even seem to care that she was soaking his shirt and her wet tail was drenching his pants as it flicked against his legs.

His arms locked around her like letting go could be the worst possible thing to do, pressing every inch of her against every inch of him. He didn't stop even when she started to gasp, the purrs in her throat stuttering from her need for air. She was finally freed when she parted from his mouth and placed her fingers on his lips, stopping him from snatching her breath again. The young woman smiled as she panted into his face, fingers wandering from his lips to his chin and skimming the little patch of hair there.

"A soul patch?" she mused, forehead still pressed to his. "I like it on you." Rex hummed and continued holding her close. A cleared throat made Cheshire jump but Rex's arms kept her from getting away. Everyone was blushing deeply, save for two. Bobo was grinning, ear to monkey ear while Six…Six didn't blush. It was that simple.

"Cheshire," Holiday tried to force her blush away, wondering just how long the young female evo had been in the bathroom. That had been the first place searched. "How are you…are you feeling alright?" Cheshire's eyes deepened for a moment as she deeply considered Miss Holiday's question. Was she feeling alright? Certainly better than she had in months past, but was that really alright?

She was Cheshire now, and that was good, but what about the other girl? The one who had not been freed in so long Cheshire could only imagine her face. It was only now she felt a captive's aching joints and swollen eyes, hands reaching forth from a place of dust and memory. That girl was still there. And unlike Nhamo, she deserved to be free. She deserved…

There was still so much to wonder at, Cheshire supposed. For who she was had never been meant to be. If not for one little accident in a place she had never even heard of, perhaps she wouldn't _be._ There would be no Cheshire. There would only be…

But there was now. Didn't that mean something? Was she no better than Nhamo had been, holding a part of herself locked away to keep it from interfering with all she had done? All that she thought she could do? Was she no better?

No, she assured herself vehemently, eyes crinkling at the sides unconsciously. She wasn't like Nhamo. There was no captive inside her, merely one who slept. In hibernation, as it were. _She _was not chained, _she _was not cold, _she _was not alone.

_Nekane…_

_She_ was so tired….

The silence surrounding Cheshire reminded her that the others expected an answer. Her persistent and ponderous silence had worried them apparently.

"How do I feel?" She restated the question and cocked her head to the side. "Wet," she finally answered and, at Bobo's suggestive chortle, she explained. "From the shower. And I'm a little hungry. Oh, and I'm a little blind. If that, you know, matters." Noah smiled a relieved smiled. A chuckled rose in Rex's chest and Six seemed to take a breath.

Holiday looked at Cheshire, unconvinced.

Circe attempted to melt away.

Cheshire gave a little noise in the back of her throat that was almost alarm. Her blind eyes snapped to Circe so fast the siren could swear sight had returned in that very instant. Noting her glance, Rex turned his head. "Cheshire," he said slowly, as though soothing an angry animal. "Circe's on our side, okay? She's not gonna hurt you." Cheshire answered without averting her eyes from the goth. "Hurt _me_? Oh no," she wriggled and gently pushed Rex away. Circe gasped as she was tugged forward, heels dragging on the floor as she fought against the force pulling her towards Cheshire.

She stiffened as she fell into the feline evo's open arms, unaccepting of an embrace she hadn't expected. "I was more afraid I would hurt _you_," Cheshire whispered into Circe's ear. The siren's eyes widened and she yanked herself away from Cheshire. "Where do you get off?" she asked waspishly. It was bad enough she had to witness the little moment between Cheshire and Rex, so if they thought to rub it in her face she wouldn't stand for it. "You can't just hug someone when you feel like it." Cheshire cocked her head to the side, arms still around Circe.

"Why?" Circe flushed indignantly.

"You just can't!" Cheshire pouted.

"You ruined our moment, Circe."

"We didn't have a moment!" The feline grinned.

"Oh yeah we did!"

"No, we didn't!"

"Yes, we did!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"That's enough you two," Six interrupted, quite tired of watching from the background. "Cheshire, you need to be resting. It's unlikely you're fully recovered from your experiences and should never have left the bed." Cheshire disengaged from the hug sheepishly, taking a step back. She stumbled a bit, legs finally hoping to give out and leave her as an exhausted mess on the floor. She wondered at her decision to vanish earlier. It seemed to have taken quite a bit of her already fragile stamina. She felt Six eye her weakness as he continued speaking.

"Noah, go see if Allison is awake. She'll want to know about Cheshire. Circe, thank you for your help. You're dismissed." The siren looked a bit dejected at being ordered about, but huffed. "Rex," Six raised an eyebrow over his glasses at his ward. The young man flushed but met the agent's eyes as he wrapped an arm around Cheshire's shoulders. She leaned against him heavily.

"Carry Cheshire back to the med bay. I doubt she had stand on her own much longer." Rex looked surprised. "You're not…going to lecture me?"

"Why would I do that?" The evo shrugged. "I don't know. For dating inside the ranks or fraternization or some crap like that?" Six shared a glance with Holiday. The doctor had an amused smile building on her face.

"Wait," brown eyes narrowed. "You guys _knew? _Before? For how long?" Dr. Holiday continued grinning as Six's lips twitched, fighting back a smirk. "Oh, I would say the whole time." Rex's jaw hit the floor, Cheshire's eyes blowing up to the size of tennis balls. "The whole time?"

"Maybe even before." Bobo was grinning. "Me an' a couple 'a guys at the motor pool had a bet goin'. Bettin' on who tops."

"Who…tops?"

"You know, who is top banana when you-" he was interrupted was a precision based knock upon the head, Holiday scowling in disapproval. Bobo rubbed his head indignantly. "What? I bet on my main man Rex though lots of folks think Cheshire is a wildca-" Another crack upon the skull.

Rex pouted, an act he was much too old for. He was offended that he relationship was an object of amusement for his friend and mentors and slightly ashamed that it had been so obvious from the very start. He hated to think that he had just been some sort of drooling puppy in their eyes, chasing after Cheshire pathetically as she danced just out of reach.

"Aw, come on! If you guys knew, you coulda told me! I mean, we've been sneaking about because we thought were doing something wrong and you guys were just sitting back and laughing? This whole time we could have been making out in the canteen and in the halls and-"

"No," Six deadpanned. "We do not approve of public displays of affection."

Rex made to speak –the frown on his face was as deep as it would go, his patience running thin- but he was interrupted by a failed attempt to muffle a guffaw. He turned at the noise.

Cheshire's hand was over her mouth, water wrinkled fingers attempting to stem the long line of laughter that was flowing free. She gave up after a few seconds, laughing loudly and so hard her ribs began to ache. She laughed and she laughed until tears gathered in her eyes, at which point it became impossible to tell her laughter from sobs. Even as balls of crystal fell from her misty eyes her mouth remained upturned in a horseshoe testament to happiness. She couldn't stop, even as the look in Rex's eyes turned from hesitant amusement to worry.

Her weak legs gave out from beneath her and Rex pulled her into his arms. She took deep breaths, uncertain if her hysteria was from woe or mirth.

"I," she giggled, more tears falling and a hiccup escaping "I'm sorry." She lifted her shaking hands to wipe at her face. "I just missed you guys so much!" Rex sighed (or huffed). "Alright. Let's get you in bed."

Ah beds. Whoever invented them needed to be tracked down and awarded a prize of some sort. Something between a coupon for ice cream and a Nobel Peace. For surely this man or woman or horse or dog was a champion. One who had improved the lives of everyone interminably.

Cheshire sighed in contentment as she found her way back from the cloudy paths of sleep. Dr. Holiday had had the insight to dress her this time. She was clothed only in what felt like one of Rex's shirts, but it was better than bare.

Her little noise quieted the voices that she hadn't realized were around her until she moved. One was Rex, most defiantly. It came from the direction of the hand that held hers, and she honestly couldn't think of anyone else who would be rubbing her skin so gently. Whose hands were large and warm and calloused.

A shot of joy ran through her system.

Rex.

She rolled, pulling his hand closer to her. Without opening her eyes, she spoke.

"Hi." She heard him smile. "Hi, Cee." Her own lips mirrored his, suddenly aching to pull him closer. She longed to see his face, longed to trace it with both her eyes and her fingers. She supposed one never did know what they had until it was gone; for the first time she felt fear she would never be able to see again. This fear kept her eyes firmly sealed together.

She struggled to sit up, ignoring Rex's commands to stay still. "White?" She had never actually seen him in person, but who else had an aura like that? One of supreme authority laced with arrogance and power.

"Evo X." Cheshire cracked her neck noisily, leaning back on the wall behind her bed. She hefted a sigh. "Have you come to offer flowers?" Her voice cracked and she realized she was terribly thirsty. She curled her toes under the sheets.

"Flowers, Evo X?" White sounded a bit out of character. More patience with her "nonsense" than she remembered. Cheshire smiled at this.

"Did you miss me?"

"It was quiet." That wasn't an answer and she supposed that didn't matter.

"I'm _so _sorry." Sarcasm.

"I want to know what happened, Evo X." Cheshire barked a humorless laugh.

"Really? That makes two of us!" She could feel White's eyes harden into a glare. "Don't get mad at me so fast, Sir. We were getting along so well. I'm sorry. I'm cranky after I wake up." Her stomach growled. She ignored it.

"And I just don't…don't remember much. Although I know Nhamo made quite a mess of things in Abysus." Cheshire's smile turned venomous. "Tore things apart and murdered monsters. She wrecked Van Kliess' invention and _decimated _his pretty little lab. That was actually fun for both of us." The smile fell.

"But not the rest." She swallowed. "Nothing else was mutual. I really don't know what else to tell you." She wrinkled her nose. "Don't be mad." This wasn't sarcasm. She really couldn't handle anger right now, not when she was still settling into her skin. "S'okay, Cheshire," Rex whispered. "Just rest. No more vanishing. Just stay here." The way he said it let Cheshire know he was going to be keeping a much stronger eye on her in the meantime.

White was still frowning, Cheshire could tell. But she didn't know if it was from anger or if his face just fell that way. "Am I to assume you were brainwashed and used against your will?" Cheshire frowned at the phrasing but it seemed accurate enough. "Yes."

"And you don't remember anything?"

"She _said_ she didn't." Rex was frowning, but White didn't rise to the challenge. He was getting old, he lamented mentally, much too mature now to be egged by Rex's testosterone fueled fits. Arguing seemed like a waste of energy at this point in his life when action was so much more effective. He was saving himself for more important things.

But that didn't stop him from saying "I didn't ask you, Rex." Cheshire snatched her hand from Rex's and covered his mouth before he could shoot back another comment.

"I don't remember much. Just little pieces…of agony and cold and fear and…" she shook her head, a grimace on her face as though the pain was returning with the memory. "Control was impossible. Nothing I did…nothing I said was getting through to her, she wanted everything to burn, everything that had ever…had ever hurt me. Hurt _us. _And nothing was okay. Nothing was clear. Everything was lost forever. I couldn't _breathe._" A chill formed in Cheshire's chest, choking her. "I'm really sorry about anything that happened. I'm sorry I let her take me. I'm sorry I was too weak to stop her. I'll fix it, I promise. I'll fix everything…" Her whisper trailed off. She could feel White burning into her skull with his gaze, Rex's hand coming to the shaking fingers on his mouth and grasping them tightly.

"This is going on record," White rumbled after a moment. "And you will be assigned a regiment of psychiatric therapy with Dr. Holiday to treat the break that led to this event." Had it been anyone but White Cheshire would have sworn his voice softened by a decimal. But it couldn't have. She shook her head. "I-"

"You're _going, _Evo X. Or I will be forced to punish you for events done in your right mind." Her eyes widened as his meaning became understood.

With record of psychiatric treatment, she could always plead mental instability should anyone attempt to condemn her for her actions. Without evidence of her mental schism it was impossible to use her split will as a defense. In his own, rough way, White Knight was protecting her from herself. She tried to smile for him but all her lips did was twitch.

"Alrighty then." The next silence was a little awkward. Rex squeezed Cheshire's hand. She squeezed back.

"Fraternization." It wasn't a question although White's voice echoed disapproval. Rex frowned at his superior. "Yes. We're dating." That statement both alarmed and comforted Cheshire. Hearing it said aloud, to an audience was…exhilarating.

White frowned.

"Don't let it interfere with your work." And with that, the great White Knight stomped from the room.

"Is that a 'go ahead'?" Rex shrugged. "I guess." Cheshire smiled gently, pushing away dark thoughts. "Then why are you down there when you could be up here, with me?" She heard Rex sigh dramatically. "Ah Cee, way to make me sound neglectful." He consented to her wishes and climbed onto the bed. She wrapped herself around him, keeping their fingers intertwined and their bodies pressed together on her little mattress.

"Rex?"

"Yeah?"

"You gotta tell me what happened to Providence." The male evo stiffened. "A lot can happen in six months, Cee." Cheshire shrugged. "And I want to hear all of it. I have to know eventually, anyway." Rex hesitated. "I'm not sure…you should wait a while. I mean, we can talk later."

"There is no time like the present."

"Maybe you should rest a little more."

"Or maybe you should tell me now."

"I'm just saying, you've been through a lot, I don't think-"

"Rex," her voice was soft but firm. "I am not fragile. I am not weak. I can take it and if you leave anything out I'll kick you onto the floor." She felt the male evo sigh into her hair. "I'm just trying to protect you."

"I don't need you to." His arms tightened around her.

Cheshire listened patiently. Her eyes remained closed to grant her the appearance of sleep even as her tail twitched against the sheets in agitation. A little wrinkle appeared upon her forehead as Rex explained the sudden lack of confidence the powers that be held for Providence:

"_The city that had been attacked sparked a great overhaul of Providence. Riots and shit. A demand for a change in power. And that wasn't all. More outlying towns, more randomly appearing evos. And when we tried to go for Van Kliess, we hit that field of his." Cheshire was silent, ashamed. Rex rubbed her back. "We hadn't seen it coming until it was too late. Black Knight was on us so fast…"_

The competition that had been sparked:

"_if we don't beat them to all the pieces…well, I really don't want to think about what will happen…she's just power hungry is all. And without being certain about what they do or what she wants them for, I think it's safe to assume she's not up to anything good…"_

And lastly, the collars:

"_it's not right. Not all evos are dangerous. She has actually tried to collar me several times. Can you believe that? Me! I'm the one who stops the dangerous evos and she treats me like some kind of animal."_

Cheshire held her breath, unwilling to unleash a slew of questions she knew Rex could not answer. There was so much left unanswered! What were they to do now? What were they now? "Where's Cesar?" she regretted that. A looked of pained anger overcame Rex's face. "He's with _them._" She bit the inside of her cheek.

"I see."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Does this mean I can stay here?" Rex looked at Cheshire in surprise. "Well yeah. Where else would you go?" Cheshire twisted her ears curiously. "Back to Europe. Right?" The male evo continued to look at her oddly. "I'm not supposed to be in the main base. And besides, Berry…"

Rex swallowed as Cheshire grew dangerous silent. He could practically hear the gears in her head turning, processing all the information he had thrust upon her so suddenly. "They have Berry, don't they?" The boy tried to shrug in comforting nonchalance but only succeeded in twitching awkwardly. "We don't know that for sure-" Cheshire rolled her body suddenly, straddling Rex's waist and wrapping her hands in his collar. Had her eyes been open, she would have been watching him accusatorily.

"Where else would she be? Where could she have gone? They have her, don't treat me like a child. I can take it." Cheshire's voice was light, lacking the fury Rex was sure she should have been displaying. On the contrary, she seemed very calm.

Much too calm.

"I understand that you guys couldn't go after her. Time is of the essence, she really wasn't worth all that much to your mission."

Cheshire leapt from the bed with a flurry of movement. In all this time apart Rex had forgotten how fast she could move. This was the second time she had escaped him in so many days. He watched her turn on the balls of her feet, a mock pirouette, as he jumped after her. "I'll just have to go get her myself, won't I?"

Rex opened his mouth to stop her. Explain just what sort of situation she was in. How far down on Providence's shit-list she already was. She was too weak to fight off the buzzing hive of agents she was about to walk into. She would just end up in Black Knight's grasp, collared and abused and dissected…

No. He would not lose her again.

But there was nothing he could do. By the time he was on his feet, hers had already vanished. As he reached for her hand he grabbed empty air. Cheshire was almost gone, nearly completely dissipated, when she made the mistake of reflexively opening her eyes.

She was snapped back in an instant, gasping as she clenched her eyes shut against the pain. Tears gathered behind her wrenched lids, Rex's concerned voice asking her what was wrong what was wrong what was wrong.

"Ow…" she whispered, still in too much pain to say more. "My _eyes. _Too _bright._" The tears fell, Rex's hands gently pushing her back towards the bed. She fought him, slapping and pushing at his good intentions. "I'm _fine, _I have to save Berry! Let me go! Let go! Let _go!_"

"No!" Cheshire jumped, but caught herself before she could open her eyes again. It was rare that Rex snapped…and never at her. His hands tightened on her upper arms. "I know you think you're invincible, that you can handle anything but you _can't_ okay? You _know _you're hurt, you _know _you're weakened, you _know _you're tired so why the Hell are you fighting it so much? The only thing you can do right now is get yourself killed or recaptured and then what? How would you help _anyone _then? Huh?" he gave her a shake, but her voice was frozen. She was stiff in his hold, his fingers digging into her shoulders and her lips a thin line.

Recognizing the wariness in her demeanor and ashamed at being the creator of it, Rex grit his teeth, slowly loosening his grip.

"Cheshire," he said softly. She was silent. "I'm sorry, okay? But you just can't keep doing this to us…to me. When you vanished and I was forced to think…I couldn't bear the thought of…" he shook his head. "And now you're back. And you're alive. And you're hurt so deep. To hear you talk about jumping right back in, throwing yourself out there like some sort of fucked up _sacrifice_, it's just too much." His voice was a hoarse whisper. "Please understand it's just too much right now." He wrapped her in a gentle hug. "Please don't do this to me." Cheshire frowned, guilt settling on her shoulders. Her arms came up to return him embrace.

"Wait right here, Cee. I'm gonna go get Holiday, she's gonna take a look at your eyes, and then I want you to rest. I _promise _we will save Berry. But not now. Please, just trust me. Just rest." Cheshire frowned but brought her hands up. "Okay Rex." She felt the tension leak from his back as he pulled away slightly, pressing a gently kiss to her forehead. "Thank you, _gatita_." Unhappy, she only grunted in response. He left her arms. For a second she felt absolutely alone in the darkness, cold and scared. She reached out for him and he brushed her hand. "It's okay. I won't be gone long."

Dr. Holiday really wasn't surprised. "It's actually a good thing." Cheshire frowned, eyes still clenched shut. The pain had faded, but she wasn't risking it again. "Good? How is this good? I nearly seared my eyes out!" The doctor shook her head. "Well, yes, but that was primarily because you startled yourself. The fact that you can detect light, even if only enough to hurt yourself, means your retinas have regrown. I'd say it'll only be another few days or so before you regain the rest of your vision. Until then," she brought forth a pair of sunglasses.

"These should help." Rex frowned in confusion. "Sunglasses? No offense Doc, but I don't think sunglasses are gonna cut it." Holiday sighed. She loved Rex, really she did, but sometimes she got tired of being second guessed. "I've made some modifications. They'll block the harmful wavelengths that the fully formed eye can process daily while also allowing Cheshire whatever sight she has regained up until now."

Cheshire felt the cool material loop about her ears and settle on her nose. She didn't need to open her eyes to know she was wearing Miss Holiday's kooky invention. "Alright Cheshire. Try them out."

"But…what if they don't work?"

"They will." Cheshire nibbled her lip.

Nothing ventured nothing gained.

Nothing was what she expected it to be. She couldn't see color yet and shapes lacked real outlines. Rex was just a stocky mass of movement, Holiday a lithe stalk of fuzz. But at least the lighting was at a more manageable level. "Okay," she breathed "I'm okay now."


	10. Chapter 10

**BB says: **Finally! An update! You're welcome!

**Rating: **M…yes, just what everyone was waiting for.

**Disclaimer: **You know…

"_Oh tis love, tis love that makes the world go round!"_

_~Lewis Carroll_

She had a grocery list.

Or it was the equivalence of one. It was all business, business of pleasure or whatever, business of victory, but still business. It needed to be done and she had created a mental checklist of all that was needed.

Sort of. She had gotten distracted numerous times so the list was somewhat crooky.

Was crooky a word? Or perhaps crooked? She should have just written it down.

They rode in silence, Rex at her side and Circe across, Allison with her smaller arms crossed a fourth. Noah wasn't there. He was at boot camp, joining the air force in a move that surprised everyone but Rex. He remembered Noah's tenacity and toughness when they had attended Providence's boot camp together. He remembered the blonde's almost natural skill. And so, when he thought about it, Noah's decided to join the military for a few years before school just made sense. At least this way he would be able to pay for college when he finally went.

Cheshire was still in her sunglasses, even a week after regaining a part of her sight, but at least these were a step up. She could see shape fully now, and the world was composed of greys and blacks and whites. Sort of like one of those black and white movies that Allison's grandparents liked. But her sight was improving, that was the point, and Dr. Holiday wagered she would have color sometime in the next week.

Adjusting to New Providence…or The Plant or whatever, had not nearly been as challenging as one might assume. Because Providence itself had never completely registered itself beyond a mere adventure, this turn of the times was considered a new chapter in the same book. Cheshire's ability to adapt reasserted itself tenfold. She accepted the decreased funds, the smaller living space, the danker accommodations. She no longer had her own bathroom but found the public showers the perfect chance to gain fans (or not so much) of her singing. The cafeteria was smaller but at least her dread enemy, macaroni day, was a thing of the past. Yes, as could be expected, Cheshire had adjusted rather nicely.

And yet she found herself unhappy. Or perhaps it was only a strange feeling of discontent, a little nagging at the back of her mind that refused her efforts to banish it. What, what, what? She was once again facing old nightmares, those that hadn't haunted her in months, years. She would startle awake at night for seemingly no reason, check her door to be sure it wasn't locked, and fail to go back into a full sleep. She would mutter to herself, a little song composed completely of her name, inflection placed on different parts.

(Chesh_ire, _CHESHIRE, Cheshire, Ch_esh_ire).

She would reach for nothing in the dark of her room, fingers splayed and twitching against a sky she couldn't see. She would hear a voice that she had long forgotten, see a smile she had pushed to the back of her mind, shed sparse tears over pain she thought she had defeated. She seemed to be tearing at the seams, a little rip that Nhamo had forced her fingers into and _pried _apart.

But all this was done in the dark of night. In the privacy of her new room. Away from the eyes of those who had come to actually care for Cheshire. Not…

They would never lock Cheshire away, they would never hurt Cheshire or leave her alone with nothing. They would never take away Cheshire's precious freedom. But if they knew what she was, what she had done, who she had been, they would. Just like the others. _They_ had shut _her _away for being _her, they _had made _her_ hurt and scream and cry and _they_ had said _they_ loved _her._ Those who loved _her _always hurt _her _so if Cheshire became _her _again, she would get hurt again. That was only logic.

And yet _she _had been woken up with Nhamo's passing. It seemed like _she_ had stirred from _her_ spelled slumber in order to once again embrace the sun. The only thing in _her_ way was Cheshire now; a stubborn shell too frightened to step away.

She shook her head, shook those thoughts away. They were not on her list. Or perhaps they were.

"Are you nervous?" Circe raised an eyebrow, eyes refocusing from where they had been staring into space. She gave Cheshire the same frown that she had been giving her all week –wary, incredulous, just a bit confused- and glanced at the napping Rex. "No, not really. Why would I be?" Cheshire shrugged. "I don't know. Don't you have history with them?" Circe's gaze darkened a bit. "That's none of your business."

"And that response doesn't make it go away."

"Look," Circe was scowling in earnest irritation now. "It's fine, okay? It's not like I betrayed their trust or killed one of them or anything. There was no falling out. I just…disappeared. They may not have even noticed." Cheshire cocked her head to the side. She had been there when Rex made the call. The voice on the other end had been so excited she could hear it shrieking into his ear. He had winced, but it was undercut by a smile.

They had noticed Circe's disappearance. And defiantly wanted her back. It had made Cheshire happy for the siren, a little spot of warmth in her chest that made her wish that she hadn't charred the bridge leading to the gothic young woman. It wasn't too late, certainly. It would just take more time than any other friendship she had forged. But Cheshire was patient. And she had a grocery list.

"They missed you."

"You don't know that."

"And they're eager to see you."

"You don't even _know _them." Cheshire smiled. "No. I do not." Circe's agitation was simply too much to bear; she scoffed and turned from the feline evo, ending the conversation. Allison, who had been watching in silence, giggled softly. Circe frowned. "Shut up Breach." Allison's laughter was cut short. "My _name _is Allison."

All was right with the world.

…_Most _was right with the world.

They arrived in Hong Kong after a relatively short flight that was strictly on the down low. They avoided most airports and open air, carefully dodging normal flight patterns in order to avoid detection by the constantly patrolling Providence agents. It seemed as though they had increased efforts to control the "evo plague" as they called it, Hong Kong becoming a pulsating center of many of their restrictive activities.

Rex and, because he wouldn't let go of her hand, Cheshire were the first off the jet. The rooftop upon which they had landed seemed to be empty, nothing but the dancing shadows tossed from neon signs to keep them company. They had at most thirty minutes before Providence was on them.

"Rex," Cheshire felt the need to whisper although the noise of traffic below was deafening. "Are you sure you gave them the right spot? Maybe they're lost?"

"Oh please. I know the Honk Kong like the back of my tentacle." Cheshire jumped and clung to Rex's hand tighter as one of the shadows moved. From it came three evos she had never seen before, and her nostrils flared at the smell of different nanites.

"You must be Cheshire," said one of the boys. There were two, and one girl. It was possible to tell from the way she held herself even if Cheshire couldn't see her very clearly. The boy who had spoken was wrapped in paper like a mummy, red eyes glowed at Cheshire in a friendly manner. As he stepped closer she noticed the thin nature of the "paper", noting that it was indeed sieves of his skin wrapped again and again, layer upon layer. She wondered if that made it possible for him to unwind if he caught a snag. "From what I hear, you are very strange." She smiled. "I am indeed. Both of what you just said, that is. And who are you?"

"How do you not know?" the other boy, perhaps the one who had spoken first, answered. "But of course, I guess it's unlike Rex to remember something so important." He was green, and possessed tentacles instead of hair. Cheshire could only see one of his glowing red eyes winking at her from behind his ha…_tentacles _and he had three large slimy fingers on each hand. Regardless, Cheshire could see he was rather nice looking with a strong build to his face and a body, while slumped over, was tall and limber.

"Ow. Memory joke. That was low, Sqwidd." But they all laughed, eager to ease the tension that drifted through the air lazily. Cheshire smiled, the only one who remained silent, basking in the glow of a deep friendship. Perhaps that was what it meant to be real. To be more than just paper mâchè hastily constructed to hide scars.

But the thought of being so vulnerable made her shutter a bit; she couldn't forget the rejection of the past.

"Alright guys," Rex chuckled. "Cheshire, this is Tuck, Cricket, and Sqwidd. Everybody, as you know, this is Cheshire." She smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet all of you." And then she stomped on Rex's foot. "But I'm tired of only meeting people at your convenience!"

"You met Cesar on your own!"

"Because you forgot to introduce us!" She stomped on the other foot, sending Rex to the ground. His friends from Hong Kong seemed to be amused.

"Easy to see who wears the pants in this relationship," Sqwidd drawled with a smirk. Cricket giggled. "Oh, I like her already!"

All fell quiet as footsteps were heard from the temporarily grounded jet behind them, the sound of feminine boots on unforgiving steel. Too heavy to be Allison, who had insisted on waiting in the aircraft, too light to be Six, who still sat at the controls.

Circe worried a full red lip as she alighted on the rooftop, fidgeting under the gaze of her (former?) friends. There was nothing that could be said, nothing to make this assimilation less awkward or forget past slights. Why couldn't this be easier? What was it about her life that made the simplest things so hard for her to commit to? The siren could not answer these questions but knew no one else could help her.

Cheshire sighed quietly through her nose, eyes running over the group of "wild" evos that were Rex's friends. They all seem in varied degrees of discomfort. Cricket's smile had gone stiff on her face, eyes shining but wary. Tuck wasn't frowning, but he wasn't smiling either. And Sqwydd…he was just quiet. It was difficult for Cheshire to read his dower expression, but through his buzzing nanites she could smell…discontent on him. Perhaps more than his friends. Perhaps for a different reason…

And that is why she made the decision she made.

Sqwydd was too startled to act when dragged forward by a force he couldn't see, too fast for Tuck or Cricket to grab him. His heels scraped on the ground as he was suddenly very close to Circe's wide eyes. Cheshire over shot it; the ink spitting evo had collided with the siren to land on the ground roughly.

"Cheshire!" Rex scolded. "What did you do that for?" Awkward apologies spilled from the pile of limbs that was Sqwydd and Circe, throats cleared and eyes averted as they tried to pull themselves up. However, every time they were on their feet again, a wave of unnatural power would strike them down again. A pile of disoriented evos, Cricket and Tuck and Rex joining the fray when they tried to help, was soon wriggling on the roof.

Cheshire giggled. And had Rex not been tucked somewhere between Cricket's neck and Sqwydd's armpit, he would have been glaring at her very strictly. At some point, one of the evos from within the pile began to awkwardly laugh. It didn't matter who. At the sound, Cheshire chortled harder, laughter being very contagious.

"Hey, what's goin'-" Allison's eyes were wide as he looked out at the pile of hysteric evos, stacked upon one another like a scene from American football. "Eh, never mind. I don't want to know…" Finally, after everyone was sweaty and gasping and reeking of each other, Cheshire let them up. Sqwydd hadn't been laughing, but there was a smile on his face as he helped Circe from the ground.

"Hey." The goth fought down her remaining giggles, upset as she recognized Cheshire's manipulation. "Hey." The young green man scratched the back of his head nervously. "So…what've you been up to?" Circe shrugged, avoiding his eyes. "Oh, you know. This and that."

"Cool."

"Yeah." Cheshire, pleased with herself, checked a nonexistent watch. "Well, we'd love to stay and chat. But we've got other stuff to do. It was nice meeting you guys." She smiled. Cricket nodded and shook Cheshire's hand. "You too. I only wish you had more time to spend with us." Cheshire nodded. "Next time for sure. I don't have _nearly _enough friends." Cricket grinned. "You never can! You should totally stop by on Friday. If everything goes as planned, Circe and I will totally be bringing back our mani-pedi-hair nights!" She looked at Circe as she spoke and the siren smiled shyly. "Yeah. I'd like that Cricket." The girl beamed. "Cool! Wait 'til you see the totally cool hair styles I've learned!"

Cheshire made a check in her head.

Rex frowned half-heartedly as they sat on the airship. Cheshire was beaming. "You look so proud of yourself," he sighed. She nodded happily. "Shouldn't I? It would have taken him _forever _to tell her he loves her otherwise." Rex's face seemed to short-circuit, eyes wide and mouth twitching as though to fight laughter. "What are you talking about? Sqwydd? And Circe? Okay, I'm pretty sure that's not going on."

"Wellll," Cheshire rolled her eyes to Allison, who rolled hers as well. "It was. And will again. Which I approve of." Rex shook his head. "No way. You're wrong about this one." Cheshire smiled. "We'll see."

"Yeah, we will."

"Now you just want the last word."

"If you know that then let me have it."

"Maybe I want it too."

"Too bad. I want it more."

"I'll play harder to get it."

"I'm older. I come out on top."

"You _think _you're older."

"Then I'm younger and I should _still_ top."

"Hey!" Allison interrupted. "Is it about to get X rated back here? Get a room!" She had been hanging out with a certain perverted ape too much.

The zoo was just like Cheshire remembered as she darted through the shadows. It was pretty easy to avoid the messy nanites that ran rampant through the enclosure as the clusters somehow seemed slower than before. It was safe to assume they were collared, she supposed. Her hand tightened on the tree in which she stood, hiss in her throat. It was so unfair to all those poor creatures…destructive and monstrous and yet still alive, right? It just didn't seem _fair._

She leapt to the ground on silent bare feet, looking around with eyes that could still only register shapes. It was night, so the Zoo was dark, and she was able to move without her sunglasses. Good thing too. She was pretty sure she was starting to get little indents on the sides of her nose from them. Rex insisted she wasn't. But he said it with a sly look on his face. Jerk.

He didn't know she was here. He now trusted her enough to let her sleep alone, and that was his gravest mistake. She had taken the chance to leave as soon as it was presented to her, vanishing with only the barest hint of guilt to nag at her spine. It was fine, she told herself repeatedly, it was for the best. There was no need to drag the rest of The Plant into this mess, no need to burst in with guns blazing when what was really needed was a gentle hand. She could be in and out with Berry in half the time and half the effort this way.

The main door slid open with a dull "clunk" and she shrunk into the nearest shadow, trying not to think of the last time she had played ninja. She could still see faint scars when she showered.

"-so much smoother with you here."

"Thank you sir. That means a lot to me." The second voice was so decidedly Italian it made the hairs on the back of Cheshire's neck stand on end. She bit the inside of her lips, suddenly afraid they heard the startled little noise that had escaped unbidden.

_Deloriano?_

"When they said they were bringing in someone from the European base to help I have to say, I was wary. You guys don't have the best reputation around here, you know." Deloriano laughed a bit. "I am aware sir. But believe me when I say we are doing everything in our power to prove we are a valuable asset to both Providence and The Black Knight."

"I know son. I know." Deloriano no longer sounded like the shaking newbie Cheshire had once been friends with. His voice was hard, confident. Cold. She could still feel it ghosting over her face and her hands flew up to warm her chilled arms.

"But with you and that secret weapon of yours around, we'll find Evo X in no time." Cheshire jumped at the name. "Yes sir. It once belonged to the monster herself. Her scent is too far in its brain for it to forget, even collared." Cheshire poked her head from her hiding place, eyes wide as she hoped and prayed it wasn't…

_Berry._

Her fur had been cut to cling close to her body, all three necks collared and her eyes glowing with the control running through her. Her ears were erect, assumedly listening to the gently moving creatures of the Zoo, and her tail hung as a limp rope between her legs. A saddle was on her back, a bit in her center mouth. Looking closely, Cheshire saw hair-like scars on the dog's backside, perhaps from a crop. Some marks were fresh. Cheshire bit her lip against her fury. They _rode _her?! Like some sort of labor animal?

The higher officer chuckled, snapping the incensed evo back to the conversation. "Let's hope so. Did you follow the scene caused a few weeks ago?"

"Yes sir. I knew Evo X personally and I can honestly say I am not surprised," Deloriano's voice was dark. "She was a monster. Heartless and cruel. We must find her and destroy her before she kills us all." Cheshire let a little hiss escape, quickly silencing herself when one of Berry's ears swiveled. "Good boy," there was a smiled in the superior's voice. "No wonder you climbed the ranks so fast, _Lance Corporal._"They laughed together and footsteps were heard leaving, the door closing.

Berry was alone. They hadn't even bothered removing her equipment. Forcing down her rage, Cheshire leapt to the ground, padding over to the dog quickly and silently.

"Berry, _mon amour _, what had they done to you?" she whispered thickly, ears flattened in distress. The green evo didn't seem to recognize Cheshire, her glowing eyes dull and her body still. Like she was nothing more than a dumb animal.

It broke Cheshire's heart.

"It's okay," she hummed, throat thick. "I'm going to get you out of here. I'm going to take you far away where they can't hurt you anymore." She yanked at the center collar, worming her fingers between the unforgiving metal and tender evo flesh. She could feel that it had dug into Berry, leaving her skin raw and heated with infection. It must have hurt like Hell to have Cheshire pulling on it like that but the evo didn't move. "He did this on purpose," she hissed wrathfully. "Hurt you on purpose. When I find him, I'm going to-" It was like being struck by a ball of flame, one that lifted her off her feet and sent her crashing to the ground.

"You'll do what, _Demonessa_?" She was hit again before she could get back to her feet, the smell of singed hair heavy in the air. She could barely find the breath to gasp in pain and shock, dress smoldering on her burning back as she struggled to her hands and knees. "I knew you'd return," she heard Deloriano continue over her shoulder, finally feeling his muggy nanites and hostility in the air. It had been masked by the chaotic sensations that came from sensing wild evos, his existence shielded from her until he made his move.

"And I knew it would come to me to face you." He fired again but she was able to block most of the blow. _Most _of it. Her fingers stung, a bit of the laser breaking through to burn her hand and arm. That was strange to her. "Do you like it?" Deloriano noted her confusion. "It is a weapon Black Knight created _especially _to stop you. Is not perfect, but it is difficult for you to stop, yes?" Deloriano fired again and this time the brunt of the attack hit Cheshire. She cried out as her mending skin was once again torn open. She blindly lifted items to throw in retaliation but, distracted by pain and at half strength, could barely lift her own body.

She froze as the barrel of a large gun pressed against her skull, a growl in her throat. "They believe you can be of use, before you die," Deloriano whispered, almost intimately. "That so much knowledge must lie within you. The secrets of your power. And that is the reason behind everything, no? _Il potere è__tutto _(power is everything). And you have too much." Cheshire made to speak but the weapon caught her on the back of the skull, sending her to the ground and making the world spin.

"No, no, _Bella_, do not interrupt," Deloriano scolded. "This is something you cannot deny. You, the great queen of beasts, the greatest threat I have ever known. For it is not enough that you are strong and ruthless. You are also beautiful." Another blast caught her in the side and she was sent rolling as distance away. She heard his footsteps approaching, but movement was _agony_. It felt like every inch of her was burning. "And I shall do away with you. As I must." Cheshire grit her teeth and closed her eyes, a tear escaping. He was standing over her now; damn it, she would never be able to apologize. To anyone.

"_Rex._" It would feel good to die with his name on her lips, comforting. He wouldn't know what happened to her, no one would. They would think she just left them again. Hopefully the force of their angry would block the sadness. Because this time, she wouldn't be back.

A force snatched Deloriano to the side so hard a residual wind stirred the hair from Cheshire's burned face. Distantly, like through a sea of fog, she heard Deloriano struggling, his gun going off occasionally in defense. "Stop! _Si__fermerà questo_(you will stop this)!" She heard him shout. Building growls drowned him out, mingling with gnashing teeth and the heavy smell of electricity. The collars had activated. "I AM YOUR MASTER!" He screamed in pain and Cheshire smelled blood.

"No," Cheshire whispered, rolling to her arms after a moment of effort. "You can't even master your own fear." Her skin twitched and shivered, trying to fix itself. "Berry! _Arrêt _(stop [French])!" The snarls immediately ceased. "_Tu viens _(come [French])!" The padding of large paws approached, and Cheshire lifted her hand to grasp one of Berry's necks. She used it as leverage to pull herself to her feet, once again focusing on ripping the collars from the dog's necks. Her fingers, now swollen and raw from burns, were clumsy.

Berry didn't struggle; the green evo whimpered at the pain but didn't resist Cheshire as she gingerly tried to separate the metal from skin. She worked in silence.

Once Cheshire's task was complete, she limped over to where Deloriano lay. His body was bloody, his face maimed in a way that would scar. Resentfully, she was happy it would. His arm was bent at an unnatural angle and his eyes were wide as he looked up at her, dazed. She reached forward slowly, noting how he stiffened and attempted to jerk away from her touch. She frowned, but lifted his radio from his side.

"Come to the Zoo. There's been an accident. Someone is hurt." She knew they heard her. She doubted there was a time when Providence ever had its radios off. After a moment, the little communicator roared to life in her hand. "What happened? What's your name, soldier?"

"The man injured is Lance Corporal Deloriano."

"That's not what I asked. Identify yourself." Cheshire didn't respond. They would come either way. "This is terrible, Deloriano," she hummed, brushing hair from his face. "Don't die before I can fix our friendship." His eyes burned. "_Torna__all'inferno__, ragazza __demone_(go back to Hell, demon girl)_,_" he wheezed. His ruined mouth dribbled blood to his chin, and she wiped at it as she knelt to kiss his forehead. She disappeared, Berry in tow.

Rex was upset with Cheshire. He had been surprised when she had not appeared in her usual way, ready to wake him up from whatever wonderful dream he was having. She would jump into his bed, half-blind and all, and stir him to begrudging consciousness. Though he would complain and buck, trying to knock her off, he would relish in her presence, her warmth. The fact that she was here and alive and relatively happy. Because although he could sense something crawling around just beneath her smile, something that was slowly eating away at her, he knew better than to ask. Than to try and drag it out.

But today the young evo had awakened by himself. And he didn't know why.

Rolling over, he had noted it was only eight in the morning, much earlier than he would get up unless necessary or awoken by Cheshire. Growling to himself, he tried to go back to sleep.

Only to find himself incapable.

Rex had kicked off his covers in frustration, sliding out of bed and making a stomping trek to Cheshire's quarters. He assumed she was still asleep and blamed her completely for his fucked up sleep cycle. It was her fault his body was expecting to be made to get up so early! Why it couldn't go back to sleep! He spent the entire trip plotting his revenge, different ways to wake her up, each more spiteful than the last. Maybe jumping on her, like she had done so often to him? Flicking at her ears? Pulling at her tail? He smiled evilly, easing open the door.

And freezing. His smile fell quite abruptly, so hard he had thought he would hear it shatter on the floor.

One of Berry's heads had shot up at his entrance, ears pressed to her head and a low growl in her throat. However, recognizing the young man who dared to impede upon her mistress' slumber, the dog laid her head back down to watch the male evo warily. The bed Cheshire now had was smaller than her former at Providence, and Berry had three of her legs dangling over the edge as she curled about the smaller evo's feet.

Cheshire lay like a warrior queen amongst her tussled sheets, half naked and seeming not to care. It was a wonder she wasn't cold. Her dress was singed tatters on her body, char marks in her normally pristine white hair as it lay strewn across her body. There was dried blood on her face and arms but the gashes were long healed, the lines faint rust marks on her skin.

But, of course, the greatest evidence of the fact that she had been up to no good was the large canine evo sleeping in her room.

Rex wasn't sure what he was going to do with himself. His eye twitched. His teeth grit together and his nostril flared. His mouth opened and shut as though to shout, but not sure of what to say. As though sensing his mounting frustration and anger, Cheshire stirred. Berry was immediately upon her, licking the girl's face and waking her the rest of the way.

"Off! Off! Down, you crazy dog!" she giggled, either ignoring or ignorant of Rex. Her eyes were closed after all, but couldn't she sense-

"Rex?" She smiled just for him, her special way that made her face light up. That special smile that spoke of contentment and joy, of innocent intention. It almost made it hard to find the crazy girl at fault. And yet…

"What did you do?" His voice was cold, heavy. Cheshire's ears flickered at the sound but her smile remained as she cocked her head to the side. Berry looked at him curiously. Rex had to admit the large dog looked a bit worse for wear.

"What are you talking about?" Cheshire threw her legs over the side of her bed stretching. She had opened her eyes to slits, permissible in her dim room, and was now running her hands over her ruined dress with a frown on her face. It had once been a very pretty shade of cherry wood red. Now it was primarily muddy brown with hints of coal grey. Rex frowned hard.

"You _know _what I mean Cheshire. What is Berry doing here?" Cheshire turned to the massive beast like she was just noticing her for the first time. "Berry? I took her home."

Rex felt something snap.

"What do you mean you took her home?! You went to Providence by yourself, you broke into fucking _Providence, _the people who are out to _kill you,_ BY YOURSELF?!" He came further into the room, ignoring Berry's mounting growls. "You could've been killed! If they had caught you…if they had any clue you had even _been _there…they would've have…if they had _caught you!_"

"I did get caught. And I'm fine so it's fine. Don't blow a fuse," irritated by his irritation, Cheshire said the worst possible thing. Rex lost color in his face a brief moment before turning red. Then purple. She wondered if he was breathing. "They…_caught you_?"

"Yes. But I'm not dead. Let it _go._ God." He looked like he was getting ready to explode, ready to say terrible, horrible things to her, all spurred on by the terrible temper of which she could still recall the flames. His eyes darkened from russet tinted brown to heavy mahogany. And he turned on his heel. And left.

Cheshire didn't think it could have hit her harder if he had screamed at her. Because before her very eyes his fury had twisted into something much more terrible. Disappointment.

He didn't speak to her at breakfast.

He didn't look at her during the morning meeting.

He didn't wait for her to board the ship together, investigating a possible omega nanite.

Whatever, she told herself, he would get over it. She held Berry tight that night, waiting for the stubborn boy to bend to her will. For though Cheshire was kind and understanding and crazy kooky in an amusing way she was also selfish. And stubborn. And spoiled. Quite used to getting what she wanted, a part of her that was only inflamed by an organization that seemed to be all too concerned with her mental state. Too concerned to tell her a firm "no" in recent days, too scared of what she would do.

Cheshire knew they were scared of her on some primal level. How could they forget Nhamo's destruction? The horror? The disaster? It sat on her soul like a heavy weight, and she knew they must have also felt at least part of the burden. They were not at fault. None of them. It had all been her. Nhamo was the darkest part of her spirit that gnawed at her psyche, that lurked in the dark shadows under her bed. Nhamo was the boogie creature she had always been told never existed but lo, she was not only real, but within Cheshire herself.

No one was to blame but Cheshire.

They were not afraid she would hurt them. They were afraid she would hurt herself. That she would disappear again and be impossible for them to find. The scars she had left behind in her absence were deep and hard to heal; the memory of pain was too strong to fight at times. They would do anything to prevent it from happening again. And so, when possible, they gave her what she wanted. Keeping her happy. Not stirring the deep resentment and hatred they now knew slept in the back of her skull.

She didn't like it. She felt naked and angry, too afraid to speak to anyone about her concerns. Even her psycho-analytic sessions offered no sanctuary. She went. She talked a lot but said very little. She left.

Cheshire knew they liked her. That's why they were doing it. And yet hated them for it.

So she allowed herself to grow spoiled, allowed herself to become a bit brattier and more selfish than in the past. Because if they insisted on treating her like some fragile object the least they could do is sicken her with the fawning first.

He would forgive her. He _owed _her that much.

But he didn't.

Not the next day.

Or the next.

He wasn't there when she regained color in her vision.

Or when she had a terrible, awful time getting to sleep at night.

She wondered if it was over. If, after all they had been through together, it was going to fall apart because of a simple fight. A fight instigated by her. Could something that seemed so strong, so powerful, really be decimated by one bad kitty?

_Selfish, stupid Cheshire! How could you do this? Stupid, silly, MONSTER._

She shook her head. Happy thoughts. _Happy _thoughts. She was tempted to go back to her tree. Berry's warmth was a comforting presence in her room but it did little to rid her of chill.

After three days Cheshire was a wreck. She told herself it was just her lack of sleep and it had nothing to do with Rex's resentful silence. She was not some little girl who would let heartbreak dictate her life. She was too powerful to break over this, too strong to bow. Why the Hell did Allison have to go and spend the week with her grandparents now, of all times?

Four days and she was pacing all night, all efforts of sleep ignored.

Five and she didn't leave her room. At all. Not even to eat. Maybe to bathe. She liked being clean.

It was that night, as she once again attempted sleep that would either elude her or provide restless dreams, she cracked. With little more than a whimper, she vanished from her room, Berry snoozing.

Rex's bed dipped minutely at the added weight and he slid over. His body lost the tension it had been carrying the past few days, recognizing Cheshire's appearance.

She materialized behind him, on top of the covers, her arms worming around him and pulling his back to press against her front.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into his shoulder blades. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please," her voice cracked "don't leave me alone." It was silent and still for a few seconds, an eternity. Rex heaved a silent sigh, hands rising to pry Cheshire's hands from where they were clinging to his chest desperately. He heard her stifle a little noise of alarm before he turned on the mattress, facing into the dark where he knew she lay. His arms pulled her closer, letting her settle against his chest.

"I don't see how," his voice was so calm it surprised him. "You can be so smart and so stupid at the same time." He took a shuttering breath. Thinking about it still upset him. "Why, Cee? I told you I would go with you. I told you to give yourself time to heal. I told you, I promised you, we would get her back. Together. Safer." Cheshire shook her head guiltily, hand clinging to his shirt. "She's my dog, my responsibility."

"It's not just this time, not just now. It's _always_. You don't _think_. Or maybe you just think you're unstoppable?" She snorted, interrupting him. "Okay Mr. Pot, just call me a kettle." He snarled. "It's different when I do it."

"How?" He didn't know. "It just _is _Cheshire. I don't worry about myself like I worry about, you know, you." He pulled her tighter speaking into her hair. "You're careless. And thoughtless. And every time I see you, it's like you have a new set of scars, a new hurt that you refuse to share. You won't let me help you, you won't let me protect you, you barely let anyone, including me, _hold _you."

"You're holding me right now." Rex gave a heart breaking sigh, an empty laugh riding the end.

"Sometimes…sometimes it's like you're afraid of me. You stiffen in my arms like you think…like you think I would hurt you. Like you're scared to let me near you." He closed his eyes. "And it's not just me. Sometimes I catch you looking at everyone like that. Like you're analyzing them and, since you can't read them right, you shy away. You distance yourself with jokes and sarcasm but I can see the fear, Cheshire. God, sometimes it's like I can _smell_ it on you.

It's so frustrating sometimes. You've come far when I think about that crazy, feral girl I met years ago. The one who threatened White and couldn't bear closed doors and shirked away from people. But sometimes it's like…it's like you've stopped. Or you're going backwards. And it…it scares me. I'm so fucking scared of what's going to happen to you if you won't let me _help you._" Rex was holding Cheshire too hard now, his fingers digging into her back and sides. She bit back a whimper and he checked himself, forcing his hands to relax.

Tell me, _gatita," _his voice was now little more than a whisper, ghosting across her ear. "Why can't this be your safe place? How can I show you that we care about you here? That we…that I…" he struggled for words. He had been doing so well it was like he had planned this meeting in advance. Cheshire wondered how long this had been bothering him, how long he had suffered in silence to come up with these concerns. But now he was using improv. He hadn't expected to put himself on the spot like this.

"You what, Rex?" He took a shallow breath, swallowing. "I…you know…I just…_te amo._ You crazy girl." Cheshire froze, chin jerking up like she could see his face in the darkness.

"What?" Rex shrugged with forced casualness although she could feel his heart pounding.

"I love you. And I can't lose you again." Cheshire had to force herself to breathe, body entering a temporary panic as she thought of the last people to tell her such a thing. The last…

People who loved her hurt her. How could he say such a thing right after teeling her she was safe? How could he promise sanctuary and condemn her in the same breath? Love? Love was BAD, love was TERROR, love was PAIN and FEAR and HATE and cold deep DARKNESS.

Rex was holding her too tight again. His breathing had become shallow in the wake of her silence. Her hand moved to his back, gently rubbing and scratching.

This was Rex. This young man who was so vulnerable at times it was laughable. This caring young man who wanted so much from the world, _for _the world. Who still held on to a place where no one died because of his actions and no one was lost forever. Who looked to the future with hope instead of the disdainful dread that Cheshire held deep in her soul. He was so…_bright. _It soothed her dark places. It made her warm. Such warmth was…nice. It made her want to believe that all the chill was just a long gone nightmare.

Her claws dug into his back as she whispered it herself. "You love me? You _love _me?"

"Yes." He spoke in relief, voice shaking a bit. She had scared him with her quiet. "Is that…is that bad?" Her voice froze in her throat, terrified and happy at the same time. "N-no. It's…it's…" she made a strangled noise. "I just…" her voice didn't want to continue. The sentence ended in a high pitched whine. She tried again, determined. "…_je t'aime._ _Ich liebe dich. Te amo._" She hid her face in his neck. "I love you, too."

She though he hadn't heard her. He didn't move, he didn't breathe. Maybe she hadn't been loud enough? Well that was too bad. It wasn't something she could just repeat! It would lose its meaning if she just said it all the damn time! What did he want from he-

Cheshire squeaked as his hands gripped her shoulders rough enough to bruise, dragging her up to meet his mouth. His lips were rough and desperate, hard and needy, as he sucked and nipped and licked her into submission.

"I…you…" he gasped into a kiss that was too passionate for words. Cheshire was getting dizzy. She didn't care. "You just…damn it, Cheshire." She silenced him with her lips once again, tongue skimming his soul patch and hands wandering on his back. He nibbled at the sensitive flesh of her upper lip and rolled them so that he was on his knees, hovering above her. Her arms wrapped around his neck to keep their mouths firmly together, keep him from moving away from her.

"Stay," she whispered as he kissed her chin, her cheek, her neck. "Stay." He bit down on her clavicle and she mewled. He hummed, tongue pressing to the same spot as though to soothe the heat in her body. She wasn't sure what to do with her hands so she let them roam sporadically across his chest and back, teasing at the edge of his shirt before slipping into it. His abdomen shivered at her touch and his grunted in approval, coming to kiss her fiercely once more.

She sighed and opened her mouth, receiving him when he began to gnaw almost aggressively at her bottom lip. They wrestled for dominance and as his hand wandered over her body, perhaps to cheat by tickle as he often did. But he surprised her.

A large, warm hand slipped under her shirt. And squeezed once of her breasts gently.

She gasped and his mouth pinned her firmly. He withdrew, noses still touching and his hand resting at the base of her breast. She could feel his hooded look in the dark, burning her, and knew hers probably wasn't much different. Her body felt hot, much too hot.

It wasn't that he had never groped her before. In their more heated moments alone, of course hands would wander. But this was different. She didn't know if it was him or her or the unannounced tension building in the moment but she felt more sensitive than she ever had before.

"Again," she mumbled "do that _again._" Like a magic word the spell was broken. He pressed his lips to hers, gentler this time, hands pushing her shirt up her body. Her skin prickled at the chill of the air but she lifted her arms, allowing him to leave her in nothing but an old, faded, bra. His teeth and tongue scraped against her chest, just over her heart, as one hand crawled between her back and the mattress to wrestle with the clasp of her bra. She arched her back, thinking to help, and he was finally able to unhook the accursed restriction. He ripped it from her body in vicious victory, sitting above her for a moment before speaking.

"I want to see you." She couldn't respond fast enough to keep him from reaching over the side of the bed and turning on a small lamp. She jerked, reflexively moving to shield herself from his eyes.

"Stop it, Cee," he whispered, a hand lying on her arms. "You can't hide forever." She bit her lip, nervous and awkward in her own body. After a moment, she let him pry her arms away. His eyes were too much for her and she averted her gaze. He gave a little laugh. "I don't know why you're so shy," he rhymed unintentionally and made her smile. "You're so _beautiful _it pisses me off." Her scoff turned into a gasp as he knelt down and press his lips to one stiff nipple. "N-no. Rex, what're you-" she moaned as he pulled it into his mouth, sucking and biting. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she bit her lip against the sighs and whimpers building in her throat. "It's not even fair," his whispers on her wet skin made her shake. "How the Hell am I supposed to resist you?"

His other hand cupped her neglected breast devotedly, pinching at the skin and worrying the bud. Cheshire thought, for a brief moment, that maybe she should write her name on her arm. She wasn't sure she would remember it after this.

"The things," his voice, rusty with heat, brushed into her chest. "I've wanted to do to you." So this whole time he had been waiting on her? Waiting for her to be ready? The thought made the heavy slam of her heart all the fiercer.

As Rex moved on, drawing circles on her stomach with his tongue, Cheshire yanked at the fabric of his shirt. "Off," she commanded. "Unfair. _Off._" He obeyed and she sat up, pressing her breasts, red and blue from bruises and hickeys, to his chest. He moaned at the contact and pulled her closer. She rested her legs on either side of his hips to connect them from waist to mouth. His body was just as hot as hers, nearly scalding to the touch. His arms were powerful and strong as he hugged her close, attacking her swollen mouth with a vengeance.

Cheshire migrated, biting at his neck and chest and pressing her tongue to his Adam's apple. Eyes cloudy, Rex leaned forward, gently forcing her back to the mattress. He pulled away, looking at her with hot worry as his fingers hooked into her faded pink underwear. She had come to him wearing her sleep shirt but not the matching pants.

Cheshire felt her face heat up, hoping Rex couldn't see her blush behind her dark skin and the faint light of the lamp. She didn't stop him as he tugged the fabric from her body.

She was surprised at her own calm being bare to him. It felt…_easy._ Natural. Right. She was worried she wasn't as manicured as most girls. She didn't wax or pluck and only shaved her legs and armpits. She didn't smell of fancy lotions and perfumes and she had scars that were either fresh or not quite faded yet. But she gained courage from the way his eyes roamed over her again and again, hungrier and hotter each time.

She blushed hard at her own words.

"Y-you know you can touch me, right?" Rex seemed to remember his modesty, blushing so hard she thought his nose would start to bleed. He kissed her again, gently, and his fingers brushed on the quivering skin of her stomach. After a few moments of gentle kisses and chaste touching, Cheshire acted. Strangely frustrated, she grabbed his hand, showing him rather than telling him what she had meant.

Although she had guided him to it, Cheshire gasped as calloused fingers touched her in her most intimate place. She showed him how hard and where to touch her. Where to pinch and flick and rub. Her patience was rewarded as he grew courageous, one finger slipping in as his thumb pressed to her tight bundle of nerves.

She gave a long, keening, cry, writhing beneath him and arching. He silenced her with his lips, swallowing her whimpers and gasps as he added another finger, gently pumping in and out of her and somehow finding a spot she hadn't known existed. One that made her see stars as he brushed it. It was beautiful and wonderful and horrible and terrible and oh, oh, it made her _ache._ Her body didn't seem to know what to do with itself, jerking and twisting and completely giving in to his ministrations. She gave a final gasp, a choked cry as her tensing muscles released, hitting her so hard the world tilted.

Cheshire clung to Rex, shaking and gasping, sweaty slick skin against his as his hand came up. Still wet from her, he looked at it curiously before sticking it in his mouth. "Rex," she moaned, although the sight made her burn once more. "Don't do that..."

"Why?" he asked huskily. She couldn't think of an answer, her brain still blanking as her high muddled across her body. Her fingers hooked into the waistline of his pants and he needed no further encouragement.

She stiffened with nerves as he lay above her, arousal bared to the world. She had never seen a naked boy…_man _before. He seemed to be all rippling muscle and sharp planes, hair damp from sweat and his body flushed with excitement. His eyes, his big beautiful _eyes, _were staring at her with so much…_love _it made her crazy. It made her heart twist and jerk, her body long to be close to his _forever._ It terrified her. Because if this was it, if she began to lean on him, it would be all the more painful if at any time he tore himself away from her.

Her eyes continued to roam, taking in the tawny brown skin and his slightly chapped, swollen lips. His thick brows furrowed to together as he waited patiently for her approval, two spots that were a darker brown than the rest of his chest were hard from brushing against her repeatedly.

"Cheshire," Rex growled, so aroused it was painful. "Are you sure…I mean, doesn't it hurt girls their first time?" She shivered as his rough fingers gripped under her knee, lifting her leg and exposing a sensitive part of her to the air. To him. "Fuck, Rex," she gasped, provocation making her swear. "You can't stop _now._" He moved closer, something much thicker than his fingers pressing against her opening. Her body reacted automatically, stomach muscles going slack in preparation and legs flexing her wider.

Rex touched the bridge of his nose to Cheshire's as he entered her completely in one fell swoop. She gasped, pain crackling through her legs and hips and shocking tears into her eyes. Feeling her tense Rex froze, breathing into her face. "I'm sorry," he whispered, kissing her cheeks. She shook her head, shaking a tear free as she bit her lip. "Uhhhn," she moaned. "…I just n-need a, hah, minute."

She took a deep breath. "Woo. That hurt a little more than I thought it would. You're so…ah…" She wriggled her hips, failing to notice how his breathing hitched at the motion as she flexed her legs and winced a bit. He was shaking above her, fighting to control himself, and felt himself slip a bit. His hips moved, unbidden, and though he stopped himself before slamming into her too hard, Cheshire gasped again. The shock of pain and pleasure made her arch her back, pulling him deeper, and he lost control.

"Ah! Nnnnnooo…ahhhh! Can't...!" Her tongue was numb as she was reduced to gasps and cries, the pain accented pleasure winding down into pure, mind wiping, ecstasy. She mewled and he growled in response, pulling back and slamming into her so hard it made her dizzy. He hit her on that incredible wonderful magical _spot_ inside her and she cried out, dragging her claws down his back. He bit her neck and forced her legs higher as she plunged deeper.

"Rexxx…" she moaned. "AH! Harder! Nnnnnah! AH! Nnnnnh…you! Damn! AH!" One hand wrapped in her hair, the other brought a leg to rest on his shoulder. He nipped at her knee. Her eyes threatened to roll back into her head but she forced herself to focus, to meet his eyes as he powered into her. He seemed to be having a similar issue, but it was hotter to watch each other. Hotter to acknowledge that their partner was someone they sincerely, honestly, needed to be one with. And they both relished in this chance.

She was losing control, her mind failing to keep up with all the sensations flooding her body at light speed. She held his gaze until it became too much, muscles winding and clenching in a familiar way.

"Rex! Rex! REX!" He clamped his mouth over hers to stem her scream as she dragged him over the edge with her. They met at the impasse, her body clenching around him and her screams making it impossible to hold on any longer. Cheshire sighed and he shuddered, at rest inside her as her shaking hands slowly released their death grip on his back.

"Sorry," she mumbled hoarsely as she felt the gashes. He shook his head, pressing his lips to her temple.

"It's fine." She jerked and gave a low moan as he pulled out of her and rolled to the side, taking her with him. She lay on top of him, hot and tired and hair tying them together. He blew a bit out of his face and she brushed their lips together. She was purring so hard she was vibrating as she pressed her ear to his heart. He gently scratched the back of her head, his other hand lying on her hip.

"I wish we could go again," Cheshire hummed. "But I'm too tired. I haven't slept right in days." Rex smiled, functioning on bliss. "That's okay, _gatita. _Go to sleep." She was silent for a few minutes, long enough for their bodies to cool and for it to start to get cold. Balancing her on his chest, Rex reached to pull the blanket up and to turn off the lamp.

"Rex," she spoke just as he was about to drift off himself. "Hmmmm?" he hummed, eyes closed as hand played with her hair. "I'm not…I mean…I'm _not_…" he opened his eyes as he heard her struggling. "Not what?" Cheshire shook her head. "I want to tell you…" she took a shivering breath, warm air ghosting across Rex's chest. She was scaring him now.

"I didn't, um, _hurt _you, did I?" She jumped. "No! I mean, yes. But it was really, really, good. Amazing, actually." Rex smiled despite himself, male ego dancing. "Really? Awesome. I'm a natural." Cheshire gave a faint sigh. "I just wanted to let you know…" She took a breath, held it, and her next words were spoken in a rush. "My-name-is-not-Cheshire."

Rex froze, startled. "What do you mean?" She had pulled herself onto her arms above him. He could almost see her bright eyes glowing in the dark, her hair hanging like moss from a tree. "I just… I couldn't be myself anymore, so I became Cheshire. But that's not my name." Rex blinked up at her, confused. "Then what is your name?" She hesitated and Rex sighed. "Come on. I think I deserve to know the name of the girl I love." It was becoming easier for him to say that now. Love, love, love. It left a sweet residue on his tongue when he said it to her.

Something wet fell onto his face, shocking him back to Cheshire. "I," her voice was full of tears and he sat up, hands on either side of her body. Their nakedness pulled them closer, warmth shared between them intimate and beautiful.

"Cheshire," he whispered into the small space between them. "It's okay. I love you no matter what your name is." She snorted wetly. "You idiot. You stupid, wonderful, idiot." She rested her forehead on his chest. "I don't even know why the fuck I'm crying."

"Because you're amazed that I'm so handsome." She was silent for a moment breathing him in. Cherishing the bond she was about to destroy.

"My…my name is Nekane Warren. I c-changed when I was…I was…I was a kid. And my parents hated it and me and what I was a-and so…my…my father killed my mother and when he tried…when he pointed the gun at me I just…I just…I was so _scared_." She gave a humorless laugh that bordered on hysteria. "And so _angry_." Rex stiffened. She was afraid he was going to push her away, but couldn't stop. "And I left. There was nowhere for me anymore. Nekane was just…after Mommy and Daddy were dead…my father had killed me after all. It hurt…it hurts so _bad _I c-can't take it. Nekane hurts me. Their faces hurt me. S-so I made Cheshire to be all that…all that Nekane w-would not live to be. A girl with no history to hurt her."

More tears fell. "A-and I know I'm a monster. I'm a selfish murderer. She loved me so he killed her. He loved me so he tried to kill me. But I didn't love either of them enough to stay. Enough to just let him end it. Enough to stay their daughter and let him take me down too." Rex's silence was killing her. His hands had cemented on her hips, holding her in place. She wriggled in his grasp, trying to break away. "I know…I know you should hate me. Please do. Please let me go, I promise I'll be gone by morning. Please just…just let me go. I can't stay anymore, I can't be here, I can't be with you, I'll kill you too, I can't I can't I can't I can't-"

"_Nekane_." She froze at the sound of her name on his lips. "_Nekane_," he whispered into her ear, making her shake. "_Nekane_," he pressed his lips to hers gently, tenderly, thumbs wiping at her tears as he gave her a taste of her real name. "Rex," she gasped, struggling in his arms. "Just-"

"_No_," he comanded. "I told you, this is your safe place. I love you. Who you were and are, they are both amazing and I love them too much for you to suddenly decide that I don't. What _I _should do. That _I _should let you go when I'm defiantly not going to."

"Rex," she whimpered. "I'm a _murderer. _A _monster_. I tore my family apart!"

"Really? Cause from what I heard you were just another victim." Cheshire frowned slightly. Her? The victim? That didn't…isn't…wasn't possible! Monsters are not victims! She was a murderer!

"Rex-"

"Nekane, shut up." Rex's eyes burned her in the dark. "_You are a victim! _Your father tried to kill you!"

"But I-"

"TRIED TO _KILL _YOU!" Her mouth snapped shut as he shouted into her face, hands on her shoulders to give her a shake. "Stop it! Stop hating yourself for something you couldn't help!" He pressed her to his body again. "Stop it. Please, just stop. I want you to love you like I love you. I want you to see what I see when I look at you. It pisses me off when someone is trying to hurt you." He snarled. "Even if that someone is _you_."

They sat in silence, barely breathing as he held her so close she thought he was trying to give her love through osmosis. She suffered a sudden, violent, shake, her shell cracking before melting. The tears came so hot and so fast she didn't know what to do. Her weeping was loud and embarrassing, angry and hurt and _relieved._ The pain was still there. She knew it would also be there. But it was like a weight on her soul had suddenly lessened. Nekane was smiling through her tears, melding with Cheshire easily and becoming whole for the first time in years.

"Okay," she sobbed into his chest. "Okay."

"You promise, Nekane?" She nodded. "I promise. I'll try." _I'll try so hard for you! _Nekane Warren was so in love it was crazy. Nekane Warren had loved her parents, too, and ached for them. But that pain meant that she was real. Nekane pressed a kiss on the chest of this wonderful boy. She blinked into the light and recalled her mother's laughter and her father's smile. And her old house with the creaky attic and her begging for a dog and her bike with the pretty pink tassels. And her friends and schoolmates. That elderly lady next door who would watch her from time to time. Sharing wisdom she promised Nekane would understand when she was older.

"_Never let anyone take you from you. No one can tell you where you're going, or where you've been."_ She smiled. Nekane smiled.

Rex breathed a sigh. "Good. Thank you." She sniffled and he lowered his head to rub their cheeks together. "Let's go to sleep."

"O-okay." They both lay down, adjusting until they both found a position they favored. Her head on his arm, his other hand keeping her close and his thumb gently brushing against her skin.

"Rex?"

"Yeah?"

"You can still call me Cheshire, if you want."

"…okay."

He held her tightly all night.


	11. Chapter 11

**BB says: **finally an update! Did you miss me? I missed you! I've just been so…writer's blocky lately. Especially with Generator Rex off the air…I feel an empty space inside my heart. In any case, this chapter is super long. Forgive me! I've also split this into two parts (because total it's a million pages), the second of which is coming out right after this one :P

**Rating: **M. as it shall be the rest of the story!

**Disclaimer:…**

**BB says some more: **I made the mistake of looking up an anime called _Boku no pico _because I was curious…my eyes…all the scrubbing in the world can't get them clean again…maybe holy water would work…I feel so dirty (and not in the good way).Seriously, if someone mentions it to you DO NOT WATCH! It will traumatize you for life! I'm super serious!

Although the response vids are pretty funny.

"_Sentence first, verdict afterwards,"_

_~Lewis Carroll_

"-so as of today, Allison Bell is officially considered inactive." White sat at the head of the conference table, glaring over his steepled hands like he didn't like the news he had to deliver. And why would he? Allison had been a very valuable asset to him and without her the gap in strength between Providence and his band of misfits was all the more apparent.

There were looks of vague surprise and disbelief all around the table, all except on the face of Cheshire. She was staring into space, as she often did during their meetings. Ignoring the fact it was very obvious she was holding hands with Rex under the table, White frowned deeper.

"Have something you would like to add, E…Cheshire?" He refused to call her by her old title. Not because he no longer felt it suited her, but because Black called her that. And he refused to have anything in common with that woman.

Except for the title "knight". It had been his first, damn it.

Cheshire snapped her gaze to White, and if hadn't the dark skin to hide it he would swear she was blushing.

"Huh? Oh? Allison?" White sighed in annoyance. "Yes, Cheshire. Concerning Allison, the former Breach." Cheshire nodded like she had been listening the entire time. "Yes, of course. Did you guys know she was leaving? She told me a few days ago." White shot daggers at the evo, ones she didn't understand. "_That _is what we were discussing. My question now is how you became aware of this and failed to inform _me._" Cheshire shrugged. "We're besties. I was the first person she told. And why I kept my mouth zipped?" She stuck out her tongue. "I forgot to mention it."

Oh, no. He was about to wound into a lecture fest; probably something about the passing of information and her carelessness and her lack of significant dedication to the cause. She didn't really care what he had to say so her thoughts retreated right back to where they had been.

Today was going to be one of _those_ days. She could feel it in her bones from the moment she had woken up.

Cheshire had been warm and sticky. It wasn't altogether unpleasant, she supposed. As long as she didn't move she hardly even noticed the stickiness and she wasn't keen on moving just yet anyway.

She registered the fact her ear was pressed into a firm pillow, one from which the heat seemed to be radiating. Her legs were dancing with larger counterparts and her hand lay at the curvature of a broad back.

The previous night had hit her fast and hard, causing her eyes to snap open and her arms to stiffen. She'd dared to glance above her head, into the slumbering face of Rex. His jaw was slack and he was gently snoring through an open mouth. His hair was splayed on the pillow in an array of black tendrils and his forehead was smooth of any concern. She chose to think that he was completely at ease with what they had committed to. Believing this allowed her to relax as well, closing her eyes.

The alarm clock went off five minutes later.

Rex had snorted in displeasure, his face twisting as he fought to remain asleep. He rolled with arms wrapped about Cheshire to carry her on the ride as he slammed his fist into his clock with something akin to hatred. Once again cloaked in silence Cheshire had calmed her breathing, trying to play asleep. She had felt him stir a bit in an attempt to regain his position of optimum comfort. He had frozen and she'd felt his heart speed up, his breath stirring the hairs on her head as he looked down at her.

A pause.

"Cheshire." His voice had been gentle and rusty. Cheshire allowed herself to stretch as though she was waking up for the first time, sensing he wasn't fooled. "What?" She heard the gears turning in his head, trying to discern her thoughts from her voice. "How're you feeling?" She had given a cranky shrug, suddenly resentful of his concern. Like she was some fragile creature.

But had she given him any proof of otherwise? She would have to work on this fault in herself.

"Sleepy." Finding this response to be acceptable, Rex had breathed a laugh through his nose. "Me too. Let's go back to sleep." Cheshire frowned in repsonse, fingers crawling up to pinch his cheek.

"We're going to be late if we don't get up now," she hummed while making no effort to get out of the bed. Rex grunted and pulled her hand away, lacing their fingers together as he closed his eyes again. "Don't care," he grumped. "_Back_ to _sleep_." Cheshire sighed, wriggling in his arms to pull herself closer to his face. "Rex, if we're late they'll come looking for us," she breathed onto his lips, close enough to gently press their mouths together. He groggily accepted as his hand moved to hold her in place. Cheshire pulled away huffily, not meaning to instigate anything longer than a peck. "So what?" Rex growled. "We've been late before."

"So you want them to find us? Like this?"

"Like what?" Rex had the gall to sound almost defensive and Cheshire frowned at him.

"Buck-nekked and reeking of cum? _That's _the foot you want to start our day out on?" Instead of the reaction she expected -one in which Rex blushed in shame and released her from his grip- the young man grew silent and deathly still. He rolled, pinning her to the bed with a hand on her hip.

Cheshire fought not to purr as his lips brushed beneath her ear. "That actually sounds _really_ hot to me," Rex whispered. Cheshire choked and made matters worse when she struggled, making their chests brush together. "I'm not explaining…"she swallowed, embarrassed and intrigued by Rex's sudden shamelessness. "…matters to you very well." Rex made an incurious noise in the back of his throat, only half listening. He was trying to capture her mouth but she kept turning her head. He eventually quit and kissed her jaw instead. "We…we really stink. Sex is just _radiating _off us. I can _smell_ it."

"So what would it matter if we just-" Cheshire moaned loudly, half in pleasure and half in frustration.

"I want a freakin' shower."

"But if you're going to take one _anyway_ and we happen to be right here _already_." Rex placed his face so close to Cheshire's their noses locked together. She frowned. "You have morning breath." Rex snorted. "You do too." Her hands were on his chest. "So get off me so I can get cleaned up." Rex sighed, his warmth lessening as he pulled away a bit to kiss the link between her neck and shoulder. "Fine. You win." Cheshire nodded. "Okay, so mov-" she gasped as his teeth set into her, his hands pinning her arms at her sides. She wriggled against him, flailing and snarling, but he remained where he was, uninhibited.

He released her after a moment although he had to know she would take the opportunity to head-butt him. "What the Hell? You fucking vampire!" The female evo snapped crabbily, watching Rex cradle his head as she prodded her shoulder. "I think you broke the skin!" Rex laughed. "It was a love bite!" She punched him in the arm. Hard. Repeatedly.

"Say you're sorry!"

"Ow! Cheshire! Ow!" She attacked him, pummeling and growling. "Okay! Geez! Sorry!" Rex pouted and Cheshire sniffed humorlessly. They sat like that for a moment, he nursing his battle wounds and she watching him do so. It was so…normal. So them. Sitting in the semi-dark, completely naked, peeved with each other. She suddenly found the scene amusing, a smile cracking on her face and a giggle bubbling up her throat. Rex pouted harder.

"What's so funny?" He snapped. Cheshire just laughed. "You," she responded. "Me. Us." Rex seemed startled by her answer. "Us?" Cheshire edged closed to him, smiling as she brought their lips together before vanishing. "Us."

Cheshire hadn't been expecting this much pain. Her hips hurt. Her legs hurt. Her lower back hurt. It all seemed to be radiating from the same point in her body and was combined with the fact neither she nor Rex had gotten the enough sleep the night before. She winced as she pulled on her dress and dragged herself out of her room. Berry watched her curiously and, after thinking for a moment, Cheshire left the door open for the large mutt to wander about. She was used to her new home by this point and it wasn't like she was a stranger to anybody.

The entire meeting Miss Holiday was watching Cheshire's every movement closely. Her lips were a thin line and a small wrinkle was between her eyes. Her hands were folded atop her files and her eyes had a cold flame burning within. Cheshire knew it was too much to hope for that it had nothing to do with her or Rex, as the young doctor's eyes flickered between the two evos like a sin detector. Cheshire tried to pretend like she didn't feel the glare, nibbling her bottom lip. She jumped as Holiday spoke, half expecting the apparently peeved woman to confront them there and then.

"There are no recent accounts of control nanite activity and Providence seems to be in the middle of a lull. Perhaps it would be good for the team to have a break? If we keep running like this we're going to run ourselves into the ground." Holiday folded her arms on the table.  
>"Besides, it would allow me to catch up on some research that I've been putting off."<p>

"And Rex owes me a bit of training," Six agreed. Rex gaped.

"I thought…I thought you had forgotten about that." The glare Six sent Rex suggested otherwise. White scowled and folded his fingers together. "The fact that Black Knight and Providence are not currently active could allow us to gain the advantage."

"It would," Dr. Holiday allowed. "If we had any leads. If one comes in we'll be prepared. But as it is now, we would be taking expensive shots in the dark." White thought for a moment. "Very well. Take the day as your own. But be prepared to respond as needed." Rex grinned ear to ear but Cheshire found it more difficult to share his enthusiasm. If looks could kill, Miss Holiday would be a murderer twice over.

She descended upon the two evos after the meeting, ignoring the curious glance of Six as she came to stand before them. "You two have anything planned?" she asked dryly, not giving away anything. It seemed as though Rex was belatedly getting with the program, noting Dr. Holiday was upset for some inexplicable reason as he hesitated in his reply. "Well, I was thinking-"

"Training." Six interrupted. Maybe Rex was going to protest –his mouth opened like he really wanted to- but Dr. Holiday interrupted. "That's fine," she said stiffly, forcing a casualness to her voice. "It's been a while since Cheshire and I had a girl day anyway. You guys have fun."

"Fun? Doc, training isn't-"

"Let's go." Six turned, fully expecting the evo to follow him. Rex glared after the green suited man, looking for all the world like he really wanted to be defiant. If that were at all possible with Six. And it wasn't. "Fine. I'll see you later, Cee." Cheshire smiled, ignoring the continued throbbing of her lower back. "Okay. We'll do lunch."

"Or dinner," Holiday interrupted again and if Cheshire hadn't known better she would say the woman was growling at Rex. "I think I want Cheshire all to myself today." Rex looked slightly taken aback as he blinked. "Uh, yeah. Sure Doc. You two have fun, I guess." He swept in, pressing his lips to Cheshire's briefly before pulling away. With a final confused look at Dr. Holiday, he fled. Cheshire watched his back until he turned a corner, unwilling to meet Miss Holiday's eyes. She felt the doctor's eyes boring into her and was loath to make contact with the unexplained flame. She wished Bobo had come to the meeting instead of going off to do whatever it was he did when not here. She wished Allison hadn't retired on her.

Miss Holiday sighed and Cheshire jumped.

"So. Girl day?" She asked like she hadn't been the one to propose it. Cheshire nodded nervously. "Yeah. It really does sound fun. What did you have in mind?" Miss Holiday's eyes flashed and Cheshire felt as though she had said something very wrong. The corners of the young doctor's mouth cinched minutely and her hands tightened on her files.

"Oh, don't you worry. I have our whole day planned." She turned on her heel, speaking over her shoulder. "Meet me in the garage in twenty. I want to change clothes. And I have a call to make." Cheshire nodded, feeling like she was making the arrangements for her own trial.

As they drove through the metropolitan area in Miss Holiday's car Cheshire attempted to instigate conversation. She brought up past missions, asked about Holiday's latest projects, talked about the news and soap operas. Holiday just nodded, at times smiling half-heartedly before retreating back into her solemn silence. Cheshire finally got it into her head to quit, and they drove quietly to…wherever they were going. Cheshire hoped it wasn't some place terrible like a doctor convention or a lecture on bio-machinery. Maybe they were going out to get omelets?

Oh.

Cheshire read the sign as they pulled into the parking lot, swallowing hard and grasping the armrest so violently the leather squealed. "Miss Holiday, I know you said this was supposed to be a girl day," Cheshire spoke with a smile although she had the urge to flee. "But I didn't think…I mean this is a bit extreme, isn't it?" Holiday just looked at her for a moment before killing the engine.

It was a warm day and the young doctor had worn a ponytail instead of her usual bun. The sun picked up on hint of orange in her dark brown hair and granted her olive skin a bronze hue. She wore a dark green blouse and black slacks, sandals with little heels on them. She was so beautiful Cheshire knew she paled in comparison, in her blue sundress (brand new, but still) and her leather flip-flops. In honor of their outing she was also wearing a bandana and large silver earrings. She had gotten her ears pierced on an off day similar to this one. The looks she had been given when she entered the parlor had been priceless, and still made her giggle in remembrance.

Cheshire's humor died in her throat as Miss Holiday reached over to her, unbuckling her seat belt. Without warning, the genius pulled Cheshire into a sudden, awkward, embrace.

"I worked late last night," she whispered into the evo's shoulder. "Oh?" Cheshire tried to relax in the doctor's arms but found herself incapable. "Did you?" Miss Holiday nodded. "I did. It's funny how quiet it gets when everyone's sleeping. I like the silence. It gives me room to think. By the time I looked up it was the wee hours of the morning. As I walked back to my room," she paused weighing her words. Cheshire wiggled in her arms. "I heard…noise." Cheshire stiffened.

"O-oh? Really?" She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yes," Holiday whispered. "I did, Cheshire." Face aflame, the evo pulled away to look Miss Holiday in the eye.

"I'm sorry! We didn't…I mean I…I mean we…" she sputtered, her voice cracking from humiliation. She really _really _wanted to leave, and the tips of her fingers were beginning to fade in testament to her discomfort. Holiday wrapped her hand firmly around Cheshire's, trapping the wild faced evo in a vice grip. "Don't be," she muttered. "Sorry, that is. It's natural. There's no shame in it."

"B-but…"unable to speak, Cheshire gestured frantically at the building before them, frazzled. Miss Holiday sighed. "It's just something…something my mother did for me after my first time," she said lamely. "And well…I took Beverly too so it's no big deal. This is just what young women need to do, sometimes. And when I saw you limping…"

Cheshire's eyes widened. "I wasn't limping! And I hate…I don't like doctors! I don't _want _to go!" Holiday's eyes sharpened. "But you _are._ And that's final." She pulled away from Cheshire, getting out of the car in one smooth motion and slamming the door behind herself. She walked few steps before pausing. "You'll thank me for this." Swallowing hard for the second time in one morning, Cheshire pried herself out of the seat.

It smelled like a hospital. That was enough to make the hairs on the back of Cheshire's neck stand on end and her toes curl. Holiday walked them right up to the window, knocking on the glass to gain the attention of the receptionist.

"We're here to see Dr. McKinnon," she was tapping her fingers nervously. The receptionist raised her eye brow, gaze flickering from Holiday to Cheshire and back again. "He's booked all day," she said simply. "You'll have to come back later." Miss Holiday frowned. "I called earlier. Tell him it's Rebecca. He'll make time." The receptionist wrinkled her brow. "I'm sorry, we don't take walk-ins." Before Miss Holiday could respond a blonde man in a lab coat casually walked into the lobby.

He was roughly as tall as Miss Holiday, sleep still lurking in his brown eyes. He was holding a steaming cup of coffee with a newspaper tucked under one arm. It took him all of two seconds to notice the two guests watching him curiously, and his face bending into a ridiculous smile. Miss Holiday smiled back, although hers was much tamer.

"Hey Barry." Her extended hand was slapped to the side as the man moved with speed that surprised Cheshire, tackling Miss Holiday with abandon. "Holly-Dolly! Where have you been? I've missed you so much you crazy girl! You hardly call anymore and I've got such big news and who's your friend?" Cheshire jumped as the flamboyant man grinned at her. "Cheshire," Miss Holiday introduced. "This is Dr. Barton McKinnon. He's an old friend from college. Barry, this is Cheshire. She's here for a first timer's checkup."

Dr. McKinnon smiled wider. "Cheshire? Like the cat? Adorable! I love your cosplay ears! First time too? That's a shame! You need to learn to take better care of yourself young lady." He somehow managed to get behind the two, pushing them towards the back of the building. "Jennifer," he spoke to his receptionist. "Bump my ten to ten thirty and my ten thirty to eleven. And clean up the lobby! It's a mess!" Because he had dropped his coffee and paper as he hugged Miss Holiday.

"Stop!" Cheshire pushed the quirky blonde's hand off her shoulder. "Thank you, really, but I don't need to be here!" She shook her head, pursing her lips. "I'm fine! I appreciate the _gesture_ Miss Holiday but I really-"

"You're in pain, aren't you?" Miss Holiday had that same look she had been wearing at the meeting, one of disappointment and latent fury. "You were limping earlier."

"I told you I was _not_." Even Cheshire didn't think she sounded convincing. "I was just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night and with Berry being noisy and barking and-"

"Enough, Cheshire," Miss Holiday sighed. "Don't lie, okay? It's just…ugh."

"Ohhhhhh," Dr. McKinnon raised an eyebrow. "First time in more ways than one, eh?" Cheshire didn't answer, looking away and biting her lip. "A little rough and unprepared?" He looked at Miss Holiday with serious eyes and a small smile. "And now you're afraid some damage may have been done. Scared she might make the mistake of ignoring something important," it wasn't a question and Miss Holiday cursed the man for reading her so well. "A couple of stupid kids have you all up at arms _again_, hmm?" Barry smirked at the look on his old friend's face.

"Regardless, I guess." He grabbed Cheshire's hand, smiling gently as the young evo glared at him. "She did the same for her sister. Crazy protective, this one." Dr. McKinnon sighed like there was nothing to be done about Holiday's foul temperament. "Let's get you squared away before Holly burns a hole though you." He smiled at his friend as he dragged away Cheshire, grip surprisingly strong. "Wait in the lobby, Holly. I'd say you've done enough." He said it lightly but Miss Holiday felt like she was being scolded. Her temper flared at the thought, but Dr. McKinnon had already turned the corner.

Cheshire would not remember this part of the day as being particularly terrible. Well, it was awfully embarrassing being in stirrups, a fact made worse by the fact an incredibly talkative gynecologist was between her legs ("Oh! The carpet matches the drapes! So that's your natural color?"). And the instruments he used were _cold._ But whatever. Apparently Cheshire escaped with some minor bruising (she hadn't know you could bruise something like that) and a slight tear. Dr. McKinnon grinned and waggled his eyebrows while delivering the news and Cheshire blushed, pouting.

When she met up with Miss Holiday the woman seemed reluctant to allow the news to soothe her. Admittedly, the edge left her eyes but there was still a slight solemnness to her. "And protection?" Cheshire froze, looking at Miss Holiday in stunned disbelief and humiliation. She made to snap something back but Dr. McKinnon laughed. "Right, right, Mama Bear." He produced a little bag, similar to that which one may receive as a party favor. Cheshire frowned, feeling a tickle of spite at being patronized and babied. And the fact that tender ground had been mistakenly tread upon.

"I don't need them!" She snapped, stepping away and quickly forgetting her fragile fondness of Dr. McKinnon. Holiday immediately leapt upon Cheshire's rudeness, her irritation coming to the surface.

"Don't be childish Cheshire!" She barked. "I'm trying to be understanding but you don't have to make this any harder than it needs to be. This is serious, you know. Just once is all it takes and then what? What would you and Rex do_ then_?"

"Nothing, okay? Nothing needs to be done!" Cheshire was backing away from Miss Holiday like the older woman was out to get her. And frankly the evo was feeling a bit cornered at the moment. They were creating a scene in the lobby and onlookers watched curiously. Miss Holiday took a step forward, like she would chase Cheshire down. "Something would have to be done if you found yourself pregnant. It's a _huge _responsibility and one that I _know _neither you nor Rex are prepared for! And you shouldn't have to be! You can't just do what you want _all the time, _the world doesn't-"

"I'm sterile!" Her voice seemed to echo through the air. Dr. McKinnon, who had been silent, raised an eyebrow and Miss Holiday was stunned to silence. Cheshire was fuming; she felt the heat rising from her neck, her tail unwinding itself from her waist to flick through the air in agitation. Her eyes darted from Dr. McKinnon to Miss Holiday, daring either of them to speak. "What?" Miss Holiday's voice was quiet, a foil to her former fire. "What did you say, Cheshire?"

"You heard me," the evo pouted, crossing her arms and steeling her eyes. "I'm sterile." Miss Holiday shook her head, eyes wide as Dr. McKinnon studied Cheshire carefully. "How do you…you can't know that."

"I don't menstruate, Miss Holiday. I never have. I don't know it's because of what I am or if it's just me or whatever. But it does mean _I'm sterile_, right? No kittens?"

"Cheshire-" Miss Holiday began, interrupted when Cheshire lifted a hand.

"Don't. Don't comfort me, okay?" the younger woman shrugged awkwardly as she began to calm down. She already regretted admitting one of her closest secrets. "I've never really wanted kids, anyway. So it doesn't matter." Miss Holiday opened and shut her mouth, looking to Dr. McKinnon for assistance. The gynecologist was biting his lip, seeming to fight back something he had to say.

"It matters, Cheshire," Miss Holiday said carefully. "Of course it-"

"Are we done? I'm gonna go wait by the car," Cheshire breezed, trying to make it sound like she wasn't making an escape. Her turned back gave Dr. McKinnon a full look at her tail and he raised an eyebrow. "Like the cat indeed, right Holly?" Miss Holiday shook her head, hand rubbing her eyes against a sudden headache. All her had agitation faded and left her drained. "Damn it, Barry," she sighed. "What have I done?" Barry shrugged, rubbing his friend's back and looking after his young patient. He steered her back into the hall and out of the curious glances of his other patients before speaking. "You tried to do a good thing."

"Then why do I feel so _bad_?" Holiday muttered. "This must've been awful for her. Humiliating. She didn't have to stay, Barry. She's…she's very good at escaping and she's not fond of doctors. But she _stayed_. If only to humor me. And I had to go and bring up something painful. I lost it. It's not her fault. I just…" Barry frowned. "You couldn't have known. She never told you."

"I never asked."

"Why would you have? You're not her mother, Holly. You're her _friend._" He sighed. "You're making a mistake by projecting onto her. She's not you and whoever her lucky guy is, he's not _him._" Miss Holiday ground her teeth.

"He _hurt _her."

"They were being stupid kids. You know him, don't you?" Miss Holiday sighed. "For years. I've known them both for years." Dr. McKinnon smiled. "And does he seem like the type of boy that would hurt that girl on purpose?" Miss Holiday didn't have to answer. "I thought so. She's fine. All she needs is her friend back.Just go be one, okay?" He squeezed Miss Holiday's shoulders one more time before stepping back and saying louder. "I'll tell you how Paul finally proposed to me later." Holiday half-smiled. "Call you?" Dr. McKinnon smiled. "You'd better!"

The car was silent as they pulled out of the parking lot, Cheshire's arms crossed like a boarder not to be spanned. Holiday took a breath.

"Does Rex know?"

"Should he?" Holiday opened and shut her mouth, fighting back an answer that, while obvious, would probably make the situation worse.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Cheshire scoffed humorlessly. "I told you, I don't want kids anyway." Holiday shook her head, turning to Cheshire as they reached a red light, buried in mid-morning traffic. "It's not just that. It's everything. I over-reacted by dragging you here. I did the opposite of what I wanted to do and I'm very sorry." Cheshire's jaw worked like she was chewing one something. Probably Holiday's words.

"Were you trying to help me?" Cheshire smiled a little. "Look out for me?" She shook her head. "I understand. Maybe." The older woman gave a disbelieving laugh. "I messed it up." Cheshire shrugged, eager to move on. "It's the thought that counts."

"Still-"

"Fine. You _may _treat me to pancakes as recompense. And you _better _make this the best damn girl's day ever. A real one. No. More. Doctor friends." Holiday opened her mouth to respond –probably to promise to make it up to Cheshire- when the younger woman growled low in her throat. Nanites raging. Damnit.

"Evo, Miss Holiday. I feel an evo," Cheshire hissed as her muscles began coiling. Holiday pulled her car into park. Cheshire was right; people were fleeing past them breathlessly, those in the cars around them temporarily abandoning their vehicles. A mailbox soared past and a scream was heard as the evo finally appeared, chasing a young man from around a building.

"You've got this?" she had the grace to ask Cheshire before opening her phone. The young woman shrugged. The wild evo was big, roughly the size of a downtown trolley, with multiple hairy legs ending in three-fingered hands. A single large eye blinked at the people scurrying and screaming before it and a gaping mouth snapped slowly, open and shut, as though in the memory of words. "I think I do. I mean, this guy looks like a cupcake." Holiday nodded. "I'll call Rex on a cure. That may have been a person. Don't kill, contain." Cheshire smiled. "Aw, man. You know how I love to tear people apart." Holiday rolled her eyes and Cheshire lifted herself into the air.

She grinned as she acted; scaring the young man she was trying to save. He was snatched away from the wild evo's wide mouth just before becoming a snack. Hefted into the air, he screamed in a feminine manner, flailing, and was deposited on a bench in front of the fleeing crowd. Head start. _You're welcome _she wanted to scoff at the glare he sent her. The evo seemed to be shocked, or the animalistic equivalent of shock, all the more so when Cheshire launched herself like a bullet, twisting her body to swing her foot up and around.

She slammed herself into its single eye and the monster screamed. Unrelenting, Cheshire piled power into her fist, a newer trick that imitated super strength, slamming her hand into the startled evo. It reared up, roaring as it toppled. Cheshire leapt with power in her legs to slam down and into her opponent while it was down. Nearby power lines creaked with strain, ripped free and relieved of their distribution lines in a shower of sparks and popping. "Yee ha!" Cheshire bellowed with a smile. "Ima tie dis little doggy!" She wove the lines like yarn through a pattern. In moments, the evo was incapacitated, wriggling on the ground. Cheshire stood on top of it hands on her hips like a comic book hero.

"You see that?" She shouted in Miss Holiday's general direction although the doctor was some distance away. "Simple as cake! Or a piece of cake?" She snorted. "Either way, I'm a _boss!_" She flexed, her moment of glory promptly ruined by a rather large shadow drifting overhead. Knowing it wasn't a bird and yet still hoping (even if that made it a second evo) Cheshire chanced an upward glance.

"Secure the perimeter, ensure all civilians make it to safe distance." Cheshire hissed and froze unconsciously. Her ears swiveled, hearing the pick-up in the Holiday's voice, the alarm, though the words were lost to her as the soldiers leapt from the aircraft. The young evo hovered several inches from her downed opponent, tail flitting with nerves, her eyes harder than permafrost. "Hi guys!" Her voice didn't match her eyes or mouth, the later grinning manically to show off sharp canines and white teeth. "'Bout time you show up. Seriously. I was thinking you were letting me do all the work like a couple of chicken pot pies." Guns cocked, the soldiers surrounding her and unmoving. Cheshire's eyes flickered to Holiday. The older woman was rustling thorough her purse, perhaps searching for the small pocket rifle Cheshire had seen her hide away. The evo narrowed her eyes. There was no way she would let Holiday get involved and get hurt.

Time to take this elsewhere.

As though triggered by her thought, one of the soldiers moved forward. He wore the completely black version of the normal Providence uniform, and a twinge of confused recognition tickled the back of Cheshire's skull.

"Do you remember me, Monster?" His voice was full of authority. Cheshire disliked him immediately. "No. And I'm sure I'd remember that smell." Cheshire's nostrils flared. The man smelled of blood and steel, the fear of others. "Ever hear of deodorant, you glorified ink stain?"

"Amusing." He turned to stand behind the line of guns focusing on Cheshire. Collar guns and smaller versions of the one Deloriano had been armed with. Cheshire winced at the memory. "Take it. Alive or dead." The guns went off, varied powers mingling as Cheshire flipped into the air. She released a wave of energy, blasting a few soldiers off their feet and onto their bottoms. The evo she had been standing on was now collared several times over, taking the hits for her. She apologized silently but had no time to dwell on her guilt as a shot nicked her arm. It stung bitterly. She grasped at the wound, snarling.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do?" A lifted hand provided a half-sphere, protecting her from several collars before the shots from the anti-Cheshire guns perforated her shield. She was struck in the leg, gasping in pain and shock and struggling to evade another volley of collars. One stubbornly attached itself to her arm.

A wave of impassivity and indifference flooded her system. She found herself needing to be commanded, wishing to be controlled. Terror overpowered the demands of the device, and she grasped at it as another slammed into her waist. She screamed and twisted her body, fighting her controls. Her body recognized the pain from its time as Nhamo, clenching in repulse with little darts of her power lashing out and crackling. She didn't feel herself hit the ground as she writhed and snarled. A shadow stood over her and she cracked open an eye.

"Hello, Evo X." Cheshire hissed at Black Knight and the woman smirked. "Well you're nothing but a bad tempered kitty, aren't you?" Cheshire wanted the woman to come closer to her face so that she could rip her lips off. "It's time to come back, don't you think?"

"I'm…not one…for scheduling," Cheshire struggled to be sarcastic. It was worth it to see the look of displeasure on Black's face. Before the woman could respond, she was interrupted by a very angry doctor. With a gun.

How Holiday had made it past Black's line of soldiers Cheshire would never know. Perhaps she had simply moved too fast, too sporadically for the trained men to follow. After all, who thought one woman would challenge an entire team of armed guards?

They obviously didn't know Miss Holiday very well.

Holiday pressed her gun into Black's back. "Good morning Black Knight," she said coolly. "Release her. _Immediately._"

"Oh my," Black Knight sniffed. "This goes against your Hippocratic oath, doesn't it? Stand down." The last was a command directed at her men, who were all training their guns on Holiday. "Let's discuss this civilly, shall we? There's no need to resort to violence."

"There is if you think I'm just going to let you take Cheshire," Holiday retorted. Black Knight was still smiling. "Evo X is property of Providence. And I have the paperwork to prove it."

"_Cheshire _doesn't belong to anyone. She's a _person _not a tool for you to use and throw away."

"Now that's debatable, isn't it?"

It was wrong to assume evos had the same rights as humans. Even after all these years the rights of the mutated were still heavily discussed in governments with no real leeway given. What sort of rights should be given to these strange creatures? Those of animals? Of another race of people? And what about those too dangerous to be allowed to wander through society? Should they be contained? Lock away all their lives for something they couldn't help? Most still decided that evos, sentient or not, were little more than beasts at best, monsters at worst. Security had a lip over civil rights.

While never spoken aloud in polite company, it was thought that it would be best if evos were simply kept estranged from the masses, living in the shadows of society where they belonged instead of sauntering about. Perhaps that was why the new Providence was gaining so much support. They could control the wayward evos, _tame _them. Rob them of any threat they may pose to the normalcy of the fragile world of man and force them into the binding leashes of, for lack of a better term, slavery. If they were controlled, people or not, they could be used for good. Directed and stabilized, perhaps evos weren't such a bad thing.

But only the controlled ones.

Those who fought against it, like Cheshire, were monsters.

All Providence had to do was prove she was a danger. And the government would turn their cheek.

"You're an intelligent woman, Dr. Holiday," Black Knight drawled. "And you've worked in this field for years now. You of all people should recognize a dangerous evo when you see one."

"All the more reason for me to fight against someone like _you _taking her. Cheshire is a _person_. And I don't give a damn what you or your organization thinks, she is not, nor has she ever been a threat to _anybody._" Black Knight raised her eyebrows. "It's a shame to see someone of your intelligence resort to silly emotions. It muddles your mind. Have you so easily forgotten the destruction this evo caused? Have you forgotten what it is capable of? Calling it anything other than dangerous is folly. Harmless is _ridiculous._ And you know that. Why you are fighting it so fiercely is strange to me."

Holiday snorted. "I'm fighting a woman who's been lost in war so long she's forgotten the humanity she supposedly fights for."

"Humanity?" Black Knight began to laugh. It was not a pretty sound. "_Humanity? _If you think this is for _humanity _of all things you really are a fool." Cheshire had slowly been working at her collars as the two women spoke, distracted by one another. All she had to do was get free, grab Miss Holiday, and disappear. They could come back for the car later.

Unbidden and unwanted Cheshire remembered an old saying her mother used to say. If you want God to laugh, make a plan.

Holiday had not heard the soldier sneaking up behind her and so the pistol whip to the back of the head was a very unpleasant surprise. She hit the ground roughly, air escaping like a sigh as she lost consciousness.

"Holly!" Cheshire lashed out angrily, collars fracturing as she struggled to her feet. She was promptly hit square in the chest with a blast that knocked her to the ground.

"That was almost too easy," she heard Black Knight mutter smugly as the world faded.


	12. Chapter 115

**BB says: **Part 2 of chapter 11. Of course you know I broke it up just to be as complicated as possible :B.

Cheshire jerked awake too quickly, stirring the half-healed burn on her torso. She hissed in pain, opting to stay still and eye her prison from the ground.

The room was familiar to her, completely white with padded walls and a white bed in the corner. Her face was pressed to cold white tile. There was observational equipment in the corner –a heart monitor, an unused IV stand- and the door was perfectly blended into the walls. If there was a door, that is. It was the room Cheshire had first been locked in when captured by the original Providence, only it was sporting major modifications. If she closed her eyes she could hear the hum of electricity running through the walls, the thrum of an automated system that had most certainly not been there before. Focusing, she tried to fade, willing her body to teleport and escape. She felt like she was stretched between two points before promptly snapping back into place. Too weak. Or detained?

She moaned and shut her eyes.

"Being so damn popular is hard," she breathed, mind working quickly. Dr. Holiday was hurt, but alive, so when Rex and Six arrived on the scene they should be able to take care of her. She would tell them what happened. They would come for her.

Which may or may not be a good thing.

She loved her friends but the fact remained that Providence had way more resources and weapons. If it came down to a fight, Rex and the others could cause real damage but it was like fighting a hydra. There were always more forces to dispatch. She had to hurry and escape on her own. She would prefer her comrades not get eaten by a mythical beast in the form of a much too powerful (and very assholey) organization.

Cheshire grit her teeth and forced herself to move. Her arms shook as she pushed into a sitting position and ran her tongue over her dry lips. She wasn't surprised to find a collar around her neck and scoffed lightly at Providence's continued efforts. Looking around the rim of the ceiling, she found what she was looking for. The camera lens stared at her impassively and she granted it a rude gesture. "You really think you can keep me here?" she taunted. "I'll find a way out and you _know _it!" Of course there was no response. She huffed and ran her fingers over the wound on her chest. Not quite healed, her dress tattered in a way that could easily create a scandalous fashion faux pas.

She sighed.

"I'm getting tired of getting captured. It seems to cost me a dress every time."

"Sorry about that. I can get you a new one, if you'd like." Cheshire jumped, eyes wide as the wall began to fold in front of her. The pads flipped and twisted, revealing a rather large screen depicting the face of Cesar Salazaar.

She frowned deeply. Cesar watched her with great interest, although the tension in his mouth betrayed a certain amount of unease. His brown eyes gazed at Cheshire with near disappointment and the evo crossed her arms, pulling to sit with her legs folded.

"Hate the beard," she referred to the scuz on the bottom of Cesar's face. "Trying to look the part of the evil genius or what?" Cesar didn't crack a smile. "Cheshire. I hoped we would never meet like this." Cheshire shrugged, pouting but silent. "Do you know why you're here?" Cheshire scowled. "Because your new boss wants to tear me apart and put me in jars. Not the best way to go. And judging from the stories Rex tells me you have no problem throwing other people other the bus. Lap dog." Cesar shook his head.

"Cheshire, I can't begin to explain-"

"Good. I probably wouldn't listen anyway." Cheshire dramatically turned on her bottom, facing the wall rather than Cesar. "Go away now. I have to plot my escape. You hear that?" She shouted at the camera. "I'm leaving!"

"They can't hear or see what's going on. Well, they couldn't hear anyway. It's a visual system. But they can't see right now either. You appear to be sitting up, but relatively inert." Cheshire looked at him suspiciously. "Really now? Why is that, Mr. Salazaar?" The scientist frowned. "Just because I work here, doesn't mean I agree with everything that's going on. I can't allow Black Knight to follow through with what she has planned for you in good conscience."

"Conscience? You don't have one of those, you dope. It goes against _science. _"Con" meaning against in Latin_. _"Science" meaning whatever_. _Conscience." Cheshire shook her head. "You know, I was just sitting here wondering who the Hell would know enough about my powers to create weapons to counteract them. Or even an entire _room _to do so. Who would have the brains to do something like that?" Cesar's mouth twisted as there was nothing he could say. Cheshire was a strange combination of victorious and deeply saddened. She hadn't wanted to believe Cesar was as bad as Rex's stories suggested. That he was so far gone. She could still remember being alone in that dark hall, left behind by one she had thought to be her friend. How the socially awkward scientist had tried, failed but _tried, _to comfort her. She never forgot a kindness. Not really.

But in the end evidence was the ultimate decider. Even if Cesar meant something else entirely by his decisions, people are not judged by their intentions. They are judged by their actions.

Cheshire smiled sadly, rubbing her face and closing her eyes. _Cesar you idiot._

"Cheshire,_-_" he cut off suddenly, like something off screen had gained his attention. "I have to go. But I'll call you back. I'll get you out of this _mija_, on one condition."

"That would be?" Cesar sighed. "You talk to Rex." Cheshire was about to shoot something back, to snap and snarl and claw at him, but the sound of static filled the room. Her ears flattened against her head to block out the noise. She peeked out of the corner of her eye, watching the snow on the screen slowly tangle into a new image. Black Knight smiled.

"Hello Evo X. Nice to see you're up." Cheshire grunted with her arms crossed and her back still turned. "Evo X, I would appreciate it if you would face me while we are speaking."

"Oh, WE are not speaking," Cheshire said dismissively. "Cause there's no Evo X here. You have the wrong cell." She heard Black Knight snort in amusement. It didn't matter. Even if it was only a small victory Cheshire refused to look at her jailor. "If you're gonna kill me, just do it. I don't feel like listening to you gloat."

"Well you don't really have a choice in the matter, do you?" Not expecting an answer, Black Knight continued to speak. "I'm sure you recognize your old room but I don't know if you've noticed the improvements. Beneath the padding runs a constant current of 2,000 volts of electricity for each wall. 8,000 total. It is possible for a remote officer to unleash the entirety of this in addition to another several thousand volts should you attempt anything. In short, we will kill you if you think to commit to any great escape."

"You're going to anyway, if I stay."

"But you'll last a lot longer if you would just _bow to my authority_." Cheshire sneered, patting the back of her collar so the older woman could see her notice of it. "Is that was this is for? A testament to that _supposed_ authority?" Black Knight ignored the question. "It doesn't have to be this way, Evo X. It pains me to lose such a valuable tool to pride." Cheshire snorted.

"I refuse to be a tool, you tool." Black Knight sighed. "Such a rude girl. I'm sure your parents wouldn't approve," Cheshire could hear a smile forming in the woman's voice but didn't have time to react. "Nekane." Her heart leapt into her throat, cold sweat starting at the back of her neck as her hands tightened on her upper arms. "Wha-what did you call me?" Pleased with herself, Black Knight smirked. "Why, Nekane of course. Your _name_." Cheshire scoffed, trying to remain calm.

_Breathe. _She scratched her chin. "Nekane you say? Are you sure that's a name? It sounds sort of made up. Doesn't matter I guess cause I don't know that person." Black Knight chuckled. "Come now, you're too old for games, Nekane." Papers rustled, dread dripping down Cheshire's spine. "It was difficult finding who you really are but nothing I couldn't handle. Unlike the last Knight I'm actually good at my job. And you were nowhere near as invisible as you thought you were. Admittedly, there was a lot of shifting through urban legend. But when a legend rings true all around the world there must be some truth to it. And then it was all a matter of tracking your first appearance."

Cheshire was breathing very hard, like she had been running a long time. Her eyes were wide and unblinking as she stared at her folded legs. "I don't-"

"Nekane Warren. Born March 20th , died the same day eleven years later. Daughter of Suzanne and Louis. Both dead. It was quite the scandal, all over the local and national papers. He was a well-known chief of medicine, she the only child of a former state senator. He killed your mother before turning the gun on himself. Put the barrel to his head and ended it all, too distressed to go on after killing his family. Allegedly." Black was smirking; Cheshire could hear it but her lungs were frozen. "It's strange to me why he would choose to do so in your bedroom. He clearly meant to kill you as well, but failed. Why did he fail, Nekane? What happened in that dark room?" Cheshire's mouth was dry.

"Did you hate them? Did you hate them for locking you away? Did you want…revenge?"

"What are you saying?" She couldn't get her voice louder than a whisper.

"What was it like to kill your parents, Nekane?" That hurt. Like an icy spear ripping through her chest and remaining, embedded, in her tender flesh. It was hard to get her words around it. It was too new to her. Nekane was still fragile; she wasn't ready for this prodding. She wasn't ready for her past to be thrown back at her.

"I didn't kill anyone."

"They raised you. Clothed you and fed you. And you murdered them both. Please tell me it was at least _hard _for you. That you had to _think_ about it."

"I didn't kill them."

"What did you do after they were dead? Did you regret? Did you hold your mother's body as it grew cold? Did you-"

"I DIDN'T KILL THEM!" The air began vibrating with Cheshire's fury, ripples of invisible energy exploding off her body and bouncing off the walls as she leapt to her feet to howl at the screen. "I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T!" She screamed, each exclamation followed by another wave. "I DIDN'T KILL MY PARENTS!" A jolt of powerful electricity raced through her body, originating from her collar and amplified by her cell. Cheshire's vision went white for a moment as her eyes rolled back into her head. Numbed, her legs gave out beneath her, sending her the ground. She seized for a moment, Black Knight's voice cutting through her fog of pain and anger.

"New collar. One designed just for you. Since you seem so capable of refusing commands from the others, this one doesn't offer any commands. It…_persuades_. It simply makes obedience your best option." Cheshire pushed herself back into a sitting position, grinding her teeth as her vision slowly cleared. She was resentful to see she hadn't so much as put a dent in her cell, the walls still perfect white and nary a crack on the camera.

"I didn't kill them," the evo still managed to croak in defiance. "I didn't kill them. You don't know me or them or anything and I didn't kill anybody. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't." For a moment all she could hear was herself breathing. She wanted to stand. She wanted to yell and stomp and rip everything to pieces. But she was too weak.

"I have other duties," Black Knight eventually drawled. "And I believe you need a bit of rest. This was an interesting visit, Evo X." Cheshire didn't bother responding.

The screen went black, flipping to reveal the white padding once more. Cheshire closed her eyes, brow knit together as she pieced together her thoughts. Finding her mind clouded by fury, she howled into the air until her voice gave out.

Holiday should have been found by the Plant by now and may even be explaining what happened to Cheshire. They would be planning a counter attack but back to her previous issue with any rescue they would plan; their minute team was severely outmatched. Anything to save her she had to commit to herself to keep from a massacre.

But there was hope.

Judging by her conversation with Black, the woman really hadn't known about Cesar's call. And no one seemed to know about the tiny, almost invisible, communicator hidden on the inside of one of her earrings. It wasn't much, but it was all she had to work with.

Her head jerked up in surprise as a quick _slick _signified the opening of a panel. A little window had been installed in the door, complete with bullet proof glass. Looking carefully, she could see wires running throughout, no doubt laced with some current of electricity. But that wasn't what held her attention.

On the other side stood not a mass of soldiers, nor a jeering doctor there to prod and poke. And it wasn't necessarily a pretty sight as much as it was a relief.

"Crookshanks?" she hardly dared to believe as the large red eyes zeroed in on her position.

"I told you not to call me that," came his growled response. Cheshire was careful not to move more than necessary to address him, still aware of the camera in the corner. "Wait," she narrowed her eyes. "You're not collared, are you?" He scoffed but still showed her his neck and arms. "You're just gonna have to trust I don't have one someplace else," he grumped. Cheshire breathed a little laugh. "I trust it. No way they'd let you keep that attitude." She shook her head. "How the Hell did you escape it?" The feline didn't respond for a moment.

"After you…vanished, everyone thought you were dead. Myself included. It got real heavy, real fast. I wound up wandering off and by the time I got it in my head to return, that woman had taken over."

"Black Knight."

"Yeah. Her and her cronies. It didn't matter anyway. My debt the Providence was nulled as soon as I mastered the stone." He shrugged. "Figured I could find somewhere else to crash. I tried Abysus, only cause it was someplace I knew. I regretted it. There was some sort of field surrounding the castle and chaos reigned stronger than usual. There was some crazy evo running around killing others for shits. A powerful one, too. It would have been a headache to have run into it." Cheshire didn't comment although unpleasant memories stirred in the back of her mind. She stomped them down.

"So I laid low, slipping into a side country and stowing away on one of its trade ships to get back here. I was in the city when they picked you up today. And I could only imagine what for."

"You're a moron," Cheshire said simply, smiling. "Cause now they're gonna catch both of us." Crookshanks hissed. "Unlikely. They disabled most of the cameras in here when they collared the evos. The door was practically unlocked too, and no guards. The woman thinks she knows everything, and that makes her stupid."

"There's a camera right above my head!"

"The angle's too extreme. They can't see me." Cheshire sighed, surrendering. "Okay. You're the slick cat that can't be caught. I get it." She brought her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. "I've lost my title." She felt like crying but knew it had to be more than some title. "Don't be all bent outta shape." Her guest grumbled. "I'm not here for no reason. I'm busting you out."

"You can't."

"This isn't like the other cells. The door is flimsy."

"Cause they know I can't touch it," Cheshire responded edgily. "It's pumping with enough electricity to power a neighborhood. And if I so much as sneeze wrong they'll release every bit of it into my ass via my pretty necklace." She heard a slight tap on the door as the larger feline evo tested its integrity. "Don't believe me? Go ahead, try to knock it down. Watch us both fry." She sighed. "You should escape while you can. It's not your fault or anything. I'm just…not having the best day of my life. It would just be too perfect if I dragged you down with me, you know?" It was silent on the other side of the door before Crookshanks spoke again. "So they've finally developed something to keep you in one place?" Cheshire smiled bitterly. "Looks like it, right? I guess it was only a matter of time."

"That's not my point," the male evo responded. "It's made to keep you _in _but not to keep me _out._"

"What're you-" Cheshire wasn't sure what she had been expecting right then but it certainly wasn't for the door to her cell to squawk in protest. Crookshaks was throwing the weight of his body against it. "What are you doing?" She was on her feet instantly. "You know how many alarms you must be setting off right now? You're going to get yourself caught!" Ignoring her, Crookshanks continued banging on the door, a sizable dent taking form. "Stop it! Stop it and run! You idiot!" The door came crashing down and Crookshanks was upon Cheshire instantly.

She could see why the electricity hadn't affected him.

Somehow, over time, he had adapted his curse to be a benefit. The stone Van Kleiss had attempted to forge over Crookshanks' body was now a shield, a thin layer of rock that still allowed movement while also preventing the electricity to affect him. Cheshire was astounded by this; never had she known such a thing was possible.

But then, Crookshanks was also the only evo she had ever known to come back from being a statue in the first place.

"Noooo!" she screamed as a massive claw ripped her from the ground and threw her over a large shoulder. She was kicking and punching, howling dejectedly as they fled the Hole. "Good," she froze as she heard him whisper. "Put up a fight. If they think I'm kidnapping you, they won't activate your collar, right?" Cheshire's eyes widened. "You…." She bit her lip, frowning more in despair than anger.

"I don't have the strength to teleport us, I can't-"

"You don't need to. I've got you." A familiar snatching of air caught her off guard, a collar wrapping around a tree they passed. "Shit!" Crookshanks' only response was a grunt as he threw himself into a nearby tree. The thick canopy created by the branches provided cover as he rushed toward an unseen goal. Cheshire figured her was taking her back to whatever breach in security had allowed him to enter in the first place.

She could hear Providence approaching from every direction. The security on her cell must have been must heavier than Crookshanks assumed. Soon enough, both of them would be surrounded by pissed off agents and then what? She would be right back in The Hole, Crookshanks tagged and rotting somewhere. She knew Crookshanks had to hear them approaching; his senses far surpassed hers. "Drop me," she whispered. "Drop me. You can still get out of here. They'll be distracted by me, you can get away and-"

"I'm not leaving you. I can't."

"Why?"

"You."

"What?" Crookshanks didn't get a chance to respond. Cheshire screamed as he missed his next jump, a pained and angry hiss escaping him as they tumbled down. Branches bent and snapped beneath them, falling so quickly within a moment that seemed to last forever. She felt like all the air left her lungs in terror, like there was nothing left in her to stop their descent. She wasn't sure if she was more scared for herself or for her friend; she felt his muscles stiffening beneath her hands, had heard a slight whine ride the end of his growl. She felt him twist his body, as cats can, landing on his back and clinging her to his front as they landed.

Boots stomped through the brush, approaching quickly. Cheshire looked around in a panic, summoning strength she didn't know she had to drag her gargantuan cat friend into nearby bushes. It wasn't much, but it helped that his fur was dark. If anything were to give away their current location it would be her hair. "Crookshanks? Crookshanks? Please talk to me." There was a collar on his neck but that wasn't what had her in a panic. Blood had come back on her hand when she tried to turn his head towards her.

Cheshire wrapped her hands in the fuzz of his arm and leaned closer to try and find the wound. "Come on guy. You're okay. We're both okay. We're almost there." She hoped. "Just a little further." He moaned, red eyes opening a sliver. She could see the collar was taking affect and wrapped her fingers around it. The boots were so close now. She could hear them over her slamming heart.

"Hold on, Crooky. I'll get you out. I _promise _I-"

"I'm sorry." She froze as he spoke to her in a voice he had never used before. It was so different from his usual gruffness it startled her. "I'm sorry." She shook her head. "Shut up you jerk!" She hissed, clawing at his collar with tears in her eyes. Why couldn't she break the blasted thing? Why did her strength leave her at a time like this? She clung to him, trying to vanish, succeeding only in losing the tips of her fingers. "_I'm _sorry! Look at you! It's my fault! It's all my fault! Everything…everything is me." He didn't seem to hear her. He was looking at her so strangely. "I'm sorry," he said again. A massive claw lifted from the ground, balancing on her face to smudge tears. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you, Lisa."

"Lisa? Crookshanks, who's-" a strange incandescence appeared at her side.

It was a swirling mass of energies, bright and red and thrumming with a life of its own. The entire room was suddenly warm and muggy at its appearance, a humming noise escaping from the center. "What is that thing?" the words barely escaped before the vortex expanded, too fast for Cheshire to dodge, and pulling her in. "No! Crookshanks! NO!" She was powerless to fight as she was pulled into oblivion, her friend left to fend for himself. A hiss of air escaped him before Providence was upon him. Or perhaps it was a name?

"Lisa."

Rex bounced the ball off the wall in a way he knew he wasn't supposed to, his gaze wandering over to his unconscious friend once every few tosses like he thought she was going to stand up and tap dance if he looked away too long. "That evo's lucky Cheshire took it out before I got there," he growled to Six, who sat in a chair near Holiday's bedside. "Bashing on Doc like that. It was lucky." It had been hogtied when they got there and, judging by its collar, it was another one that Providence had lost control of. It was weird how the organization chose not to show up on the scene but maybe it had flown under their radar.

"It's nothing too serious. Just a bump to the head. She'll be fine soon enough." Six tried to be the voice of reason but Rex had known him long enough to hear the slight tone of amused wrath in the man's voice. He agreed with his young partner. "Yeah, and hopefully Cheshire will show up soon too. She has to realize we already found Holiday. I mean, she doesn't need to go get us if we're already here!" Six grunted. "Maybe that's why she's not here?" Rex wrinkled his brow. "How do you mean?"

"If she knows Holiday is safe she may have taken the opportunity to sulk. She might think it's her fault Holiday was injured." Rex closed his eyes, thinking for a moment. "Yeah," he lamented. "That does sound like her. Taking all the blame for someone getting hurt. I just hope she gets back soon." He scratched the back of his head and made a noise of absolute frustration. "I hate it when she does this! She never lets anyone cheer her up! It's so-"

"Calm down little brother. I can explain everything." Rex wasn't sure how Cesar had gained access to the large monitor they were sporting in the med bay and, when he thought about it, Cesar really warranted no explanation anyway. The evo's eyes grew wide, ball falling to the floor. "Cesar?! What the Hell?!" Cesar didn't even blink. "I'm here to tell you what happened to Cheshire. I figured you'd be getting worried by now?" Rex leapt to his feet and glared at his brother. "What happened? What did you do?" Cesar sighed. "I didn't do anything to her. Up to about an hour ago, she was being held in a monitored room, completely unharmed." Rex felt a brief moment of panic. "A monitored room?"

"As of 13:00 PST Evo X, as she is called, was in the custody of Providence." Rex hissed a curse in Spanish. "So she was at Providence? Providence _took _her?!" Well, that would explain the un-captured, collared evo. Who was now once again a mailman. You're welcome, world.

"Why didn't you stop them? Why didn't you help her? Why-"

"And what happened in the past hour?" Six's voice was nearly as cold as Rex's was hot, one of his eyebrows peeking from above his sunglasses. Cesar hummed. The agent had interrupted his brother's rant, giving him a chance to explain. "Well…difficult to explain actually. One minute she was there, powers nullified, and the next…well, look for yourself." He pulled up a scene. It was a part of the Zoo that looked like it had been burned. Badly. Like a fire had been started. The trees were hunched over and twisted, soot on the ground. Red embers still remained smoldering in some parts.

"She had an ally in the form of a large feline evo, currently in custody." Cesar's voice spoke off screen as they surveyed the scene. "He was able to free her from her cell but the two were in the midst of being recaptured when Cheshire…disappeared." Cesar face reappeared on the screen, watching Rex and Six.

"I originally believed there was a short in the confinement equipment and, seeing her chance in the forms of the resulting fire and her downed comrade, Cheshire took her leave. But that's not in her character. I don't believe Cheshire would leave anyone she deemed a friend behind. So I ran a scan."

"So you could hunt her down again?" Rex asked, still glaring a bit. Cesar sighed. "No. Because assumptions are never good enough in the world of science, Rex. I had to be certain it wasn't something more. As it turns out, it was a lot more. I found that Cheshire did leave the Zoo, but not of her own power. The levels of energy possessed in that room were not unlike those of the phenomena several years ago, involving the release of the alpha nanite."

"Okay, nothing you said just now sounds like good news," Rex frowned. "Are you saying Alpha freed Cheshire?"

"I'm saying whatever _freed_ Alpha _took_ Cheshire."

"So she's in the," Rex struggled to remember what that boy from so long ago had called it. "The null void? The dimension for intergalactic _criminals?_"

"I believe so. Yes. There was a fracture in our dimension, a little crack that was attracted to Cheshire's own spatial abilities. She was probably trying to vanish at the time and-"

"Can you get her out?" Cesar actually hesitated at Six's question, a terrible sign. He frowned deeply, retreating inside himself to think for a moment before responding. "I don't…know." And it killed him to say it. He choked on the words. "When we last encountered Alpha I was careful not only to lock it back in the null void but also to lock it out of this dimension. I severed any ties this world has with that one as a precautionary measure. If Cheshire hopes to escape, she would have to find her way into a neighboring dimension. From there, there is the chance I would be able to pull her back here." There was clicking heard, Cesar working on a computer off camera.

"The problem lies in the possibilities she faces. String theory suggests there are hundreds, if not thousands of dimensions out there. Although I could pull her back from any one of them, it would a miracle if I could pin down her frequency from here."

"So," Rex licked his lips, struggling with the lump his chest. "So…she's lost?" He should never had let her out of bed that morning, never should have let her out of his sight _ever _because every time he did, _every time-_

"Only for the moment," Cesar leveled his brother with a steady look, taking in his hunching shoulders. "She's family, _mijo. _I'll find her. Just give me time."

"I should get to work too," Holiday pushed herself off the bed, the three men in the room looking at her in surprise. They didn't know she had been awake for some time now, long enough to hear the gist of the problem. "I still have some data collected from last time. I'll see what I can do to speed this entire thing along." She gingerly touched the bandage on her head. "Is there any way for you to contact us without Black Knight catching on?"

"Is neon a noble gas? She doesn't know about this call she won't know about the future ones."

"Good."

"To work then. I was looking for a new project anyway."

The screen went black as Cesar hung up. The silence of the room that followed was heavy. Rex could feel the eyes of Six and Holiday on his back, asking questions. Was he going to be okay? Was he going to sink like before? He stiffened his shoulders and turned to them.

"He'll find her. He's a genius right? If there's even the slightest chance…"

"This is Cheshire, Rex," Six placed his arm on his partner's shoulder. "She always finds her way home eventually." Rex smiled, stiffly. "Yeah, she-" There was a loud cracking noise that seemed to originate from the air itself. What felt like gale force winds whipped past them as a large red fissure appeared in the middle of the air. A hand grasped from it, wrapped about nothing as an arm followed. Then a leg and a shoulder. Finally, the young woman pulled herself free.

The visitor adjusted herself for a moment, cracking her neck and shaking as though to loosen herself. The fissure hung in the air a moment more before pulling itself shut, sewn up like a ripped gown. The strange woman didn't seem to notice or care about this as she took inventory, fingers brushing lightly on her body. She only noticed her company only when she was comfortable enough to do so.

Rex started to smile but it fizzled out on his face before taking form. Something wasn't right. "Cheshire?" Not quite. She looked as she had that morning, no physical difference marring her. She seemed well enough, completely uninjured and calm. But when he called her name and she turned to face him, he went cold.

Her _eyes._

They no longer held the bright serendipity that was a part of her, no whimsy or sporadic motion to her body. She wore something Rex never thought to see her in, a field uniform composed of leather and metal. Her long white hair was tied out of her face with her tail lazily hanging behind her, zapped of life. Her mouth was a firm line, like she had forgotten what it was like to smile. There was a gun on her hip, combat boots on her feet.

"Cheshire?" her voice was just as dead as her gaze, ears slowly twisting to scan the room for anyone else. "No one's called me that in years."


	13. Chapter 13

**BB says: **I know I should update more often. I just feel so…writer's blocky since _Generator Rex_ went off the air (not that I'm BITTER or anything). Combine that with my stressed way of life and you've got a combination for disaster. Or nervous breakdown. Whichever comes first.

_"Which form of proverb do you prefer? Better late than never or better never than late?" _

_ ~ Lewis Carroll_

"Shit! Oh shit! Oh Shitty McCFuckerson's!" She twisted her body, swinging her arms wildly in what was a pathetic attempt at a breast stroke. There was a strange sense of gravity to the place (once or twice already she had been facing the ground-sky and nearly lost her lunch) and she couldn't seem to find her bearings. It was rather like floating in the open ocean; which excused her sporadic attempts to "swim" from floating rock to rock.

She was being chased. And, considering who she was and what she was, this wasn't really the cause for her alarm. No, the alarm stemmed more from _what _was chasing her and _why _they were and _how _her powers seemed to be fritzy at best in this topsy turvy world. They were huge…evos? Maybe? She had certainly seen evos _similar _to the creatures and nothing was truly impossible for nanites. But they felt wrong. Well…she couldn't feel them at all and that's what was freaking her out. She hadn't sensed the normal jolt of crazed miniature robots approaching, or the gurgle burble of her stomach muscles clenching in anticipation. It was like they had blinded her. And she was not a fan of the dark.

They gnashed their gnarled teeth at her when she had first arrived, beating their leathery, terrible wings and she had known, though the air was suddenly stiffly silent, that they were going to hurt her very badly. Kill her, maybe.

If she gave them the chance.

So she rallied the cookie crumbles that remained of her strength, stifled the fear and dread that this world reeked of, and fled.

She supposed she could wonder where she was later.

Stay alive, survive, stay alive, survive. That's all she could hope for now. And yet it seemed that every time she escaped, every time she managed to stay hidden just long enough to let terror swallow her briefly, they were upon her again. Like they could sense where she was by the long dried sweat on her skin. Like the red, pock-marked air was soaking up all that she was trying to stifle and alerted her pursuers.

Curse you, crazy-colored atmosphere. May all your bacon burn.

"They chase you because you are a threat." The voice was much too calm, considering their shared circumstances, and Cheshire jumped. She would have also whipped around dramatically had such an act not guaranteed she would once again go spinning off into gravity-less space. She was quite content with the minor pull of the rock on which she hid and would rather not lose her orientation again.

The voice had come from a very strange looking ball, perfectly round and perfectly steely, save for the incandescence cracks of raw red power that seemed to breath miasma into the air. While it was not on Cheshire's precious sanctuary with her it floated just beyond, close enough for her to hear its voice and (hopefully) close enough for the monsters that chased her to remain in the dark as to her hiding spot.

Cheshire opened and shut her mouth silently before responding. "I'm sorry, what was that?" The voice responded again in a permanently patient way. "They chase you because you are a threat. One they cannot ignore." Cheshire snorted, glancing about nervously and fiddling with the frayed hems of her dress. "In my current state? A threat to who, exactly? Mites?"

"You are a threat."

"Yes. Thank you. Repetition was _definitely _needed right then." She sighed, letting her body fall into a half-relaxed state. They would find her. They always did. She didn't know how long she had been running and was equally uncertain if this world had day or night. All she knew was that she was running on fumes, her body requiring more than the strained naps she snuck in between bouts of the monsters finding her.

"You would not be here if you were not a threat." The stupid magic 8 ball seemed blissfully unaware when someone was trying to rest. Cheshire groaned. "Where is here, exactly?"

"I have heard it called the Null Void," came the drawled response. "A prison. You would not been here if you were not a threat."

"A prison?! I'm not a criminal!"

"You are a threat. And so the Null Guardians chase you."

"Look, I'm not saying I'm _not_ a threat, okay? Just…can you tell me how to get out? Who's in charge here?"

"How did you get in? If you are not a criminal, how did you get in?"

"Can you answer my questions before I answer yours? I asked first!"

"There is no way out…any longer. It has been sealed by my father." Cheshire crinkled her forehead, trying to picture the father of a sphere. A larger sphere, perhaps? "Who is your father?"

"Cesar Salazaar. I am Alpha Nanite. I am his Alpha. And he has abandoned me." Cheshire's eyes widened. "You're…a nanite?"

"I am Alpha." Cheshire nodded in dismissal, fascinated by this revelation. To her knowledge, nanites were microscopic, not spheres roughly the size of grapefruit. Perhaps he was a prototype? Yes, that would explain the name Alpha. "Yes. A nanite. That Cesar The Intelligent Moron created. Why are you here?"

"My father abandoned me. He chose my brothers over me."

"Siblings?"

"All nanites are my brothers." Duh.

"And Cesar played favorites? That's a dick move," Cheshire hummed, bringing her knees up to rest her chin on them. "Who are you?" Alpha asked after a time. "You possess my brothers. They are within you. Who are you?" Cheshire re-opened her eyes without realizing she had shut them. "Nekane Warren," she was proud there was only slight hesitation in her voice. "But everyone calls me Cheshire."

"How did you get here, Nekane Warren?" She sighed.

"Cheshire, if you please. And it doesn't really matter how I got here. Probably a way that was sealed off. Cesar's an idiot, but he does like to be thorough." She shook her head warily. "If this place really if a prison they would be on top of breaches right? The…Null Guardians and whoever the hell is the warden of a messed up place like this."

"No," Alpha said simply. "The way in is the way out. How did you get in?" Cheshire buried her fingers in her hair, nails digging into her scalp and reminded her just how filthy she was at the moment. "I don't know."

"You do. How?"

"I don't know!"

"Think. How?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"How?" Cheshire grit her teeth, fighting another scream. She didn't want the guardians to find her. She needed this time to rest, she needed to think of something, she needed to focus. "I…I have to ability to go places," she said slowly, warily. "I just disappear and 'poof!' I'm where I want to go. Or close to it. Or not. But the important part is that I _can._" She sighed. "I wasn't trying to go anywhere this time though. Well, I _was, _but I was trying to take someone with me. And we defiantly weren't trying to come any place like this. I just wanted…wanted to save him. Like he had just saved me. And it looks like I've fucked that up in a way that's uniquely my own." Alpha made no attempt to comfort her and gave no sign that he wanted to. He simply spoke again.

"You are here of your own volition?"

"It looks like it, don't it?"

"Then we shall leave to same way." Cheshire looked at the floating sphere all the more carefully, hands clenching on the remains of her skirt. "'We?' Look, Alpha, Cesar may be a moron but he has his smart moments. And you might be one of them. But that doesn't mean I should trust what you say. Who's to say you're not totally jerking me around here? How am I to know you're not really just some world destroying criminal, out to catch a ride out of prison? Everywhere I go, people are trying to use me for _power. _Like I'm nothing but a battery or a tool. There's nothing that shows me that you're different."

"Oh, but I am, Cheshire. I am the same as you." Cheshire raised an eyebrow, snorting. "We are not the same."

"Yes. We are. We are powerful. And that power makes us dangerous, objects to be feared. Controlled or destroyed. We have to work together to survive. We have to work together to keep them from destroying us. The fools who cannot see the grander world, those who are too weak and entitled to truly understand what it is to have freedom. To have life." Cheshire blinked. "Why are you here, Alpha?" The floating ball was silent and Cheshire almost thought he wasn't going to respond.

"Is it a crime to live? Are we born only to die?" He finally asked. Cheshire sighed, reminded that her lips were uncomfortably dry and her hair was singed. There were sores on her neck from her collar and her joints ached with exhaustion. She wanted to sleep but like all the other times she had napped in this place she was afraid of not waking up again. But would that be so bad?

"That is the case with some," she muttered. "Yes." The orb that encased Alpha (or perhaps was a part of his body. She had no way of knowing) seemed to shake with emotion. "No, no, it cannot be true. Alpha wants to live. Alpha doesn't wish to die. Why is it a crime for Alpha to live? Is it a crime to want to live? Am I wrong for wanting to live?" Cheshire shook her head. "I didn't say that. Never that." She sighed, holding out her hand. The sphere drifted closer to Cheshire, caught in the pull of her power. Once it reached the faint gravity of the rock upon which she sat it became too heavy for her to manage and slammed roughly to the ground. She frowned as her platform shook.

"You're heavier than you look."

"I am not heavy. I am dense."

"Potato, potahto." They sat in silence, as Cheshire caught her breath. She didn't want to admit how such a simple action had winded her, a testament to her exhaustion. "I'm afraid…I'm afraid I don't have the strength to vanish," she admitted. "I'm afraid that if I do…I might not be okay. I have these _episodes _when I overdo it and if I have one now there'll be no one here to help me. I'll just, I don't know, die or something."

"The guardians of the null are very serious," Alpha deadened. "Once they had your scent, once they had decided you are a threat, they will not stop until you are dead. Either way, you are going to die." Cheshire gave a snort, a humorless smile on her face.

"Get out or die trying? What a courageous guy you are," she snarled. "When it's not your life on the line." Alpha didn't respond. Cheshire's ears swiveled, detecting a familiar and dreaded beating of wings. Perhaps Alpha was right. She couldn't run forever; eventually they would catch up to her and display just what those gnarled teeth and wicked claws were for. So her choices were rather dower. Die somewhat painfully or simply fade away? Well, actually, if her past overloads were any indication that would be an agonizing way to do too. So, die painfully or die painfully?

Huh.

"Hold onto your balls." She struggled to her feet, trying to force air into lungs that felt as though they were collapsing. The guardians were so close now she could practically feel their wings at her back, their teeth in her neck. She grit her teeth and forced herself into tight ball of power within that held everything that encompassed her abilities. In her mind it was like venturing to an alien planet. An endless plain of soft blue grass beneath her ethereal feet and a sky of bright violet above. There were two suns, one larger than the other, five ever-seen moons dim in the background. She wondered if this was her warped way of viewing her alleged "happy place", a fairytale land that only she was privy to. But no time for musings.

Cheshire sighed, reaching for the core of her abilities, that which lurked in the center of a rather large flower. A bee collecting pollen, her fingers were scorched as she reached forward, the bright light of the blossom that would otherwise be so easy for her to grasp fighting her will. She screamed in agony, forced backwards. The world wavered but she willed it still as she climbed back to her feet.

On the outside, pulsating blue veins traced familiar paths on her blackened skin, the air crackling and smaller stones lifting at her feet as they were caught in an unseen force. Her face crumpled into a pained scowl, blood vessels exploding beneath the skin of her cheeks and forehead. Her heart stuttered, stopped, and jerked back to life. A field of blue static arched fingers of electricity into the air, creating a sphere of heat and power not unlike the works of Nicola Tesla. She fell to her knees, hands balling in the burned earth surrounding her.

Earth?

Her eyes opened a sliver, as far as they could go, noting that she was in the center of a large indention in a formerly lovely park, singed soil beneath her feet and pedestrians fleeing the lip of her crater.

"Well done," Alpha praised.

Cheshire sighed and fell forward, heart stopping again.

Rex glared at their visitor who stood in her prison like it was just another sidewalk. She stared back at him impassively, her arms crossed as a barrier between them. Dr. Holiday carefully taped her fingers on her handheld computer. "So..." Rex tore his gaze away. "What is this thing?" Holiday shook her head in confusion, eyes locked on her data in disbelief. "It's…_she's_ not a thing," she mumbled. "All readings show that this is indeed Cheshire." Rex frowned. "That can't be right…she's not acting like Cheshire. I mean, her eyes are all wrong. And her _attitude_," he growled this comment at the woman in the large jar. She rolled her eyes. "Run some more tests! Poke her some more! This has got to be some sort of trap or something."  
>"I know…I know. It's just if this <em>is <em>a trick of some sort, it's a damn good one." Holiday frowned. "DNA matches, fingerprints, nanite output. Not to mention-"

"She's not leaving," Six spoke from where he leaned on the wall. He raised an eyebrow. "You can leave if you wanted to, can't you 'Cheshire'? So why don't you?" The young woman thought a moment. "Would it prove myself to you?"

"It would be a start." She looked at him steadily, ignoring the intense look on Rex's face. Her hand rested on the surface of her cell. To the surprise of those who looked on, she didn't vanish in the way associated with Cheshire. Her hand simply moved through the reinforced glass like it was not even there, phasing though gracefully. When she reclaimed it the prison was still intact. "I learned a few tricks during my time away," she drawled. As though to show-off, she then vanished, reappearing on the other side of the room before bouncing back into her prison. "There was quite a bit of time to hone my talents."

"And tell us again, how much time did you have?" Six questioned. The young woman cocked her head like she was curious as to why he was asking. "Ten years." Rex snorted. "Yeah right. You look a little young, don't you think? Like you haven't aged at all." The woman sighed.

"Time passes differently in the land between universes. And I, myself, am not human. You can't expect me to develop like one. I don't know if this form is a sign of longevity or simply prolonged youth but I choose not to question it."

"You said time passes differently," Dr. Holiday. "How is it that you know how long you've been gone if you don't age and there's no way for you to tell time?" Nekane blinked. "I have my ways. Time is, after all, just another dimension in itself. I've seen it. _Touched _it. Here it's been what? An hour since I vanished? Two? But I have waited a _decade_ to return. Wrap your minds around _that. _In the time it took you to notice I was missing, to decided what to do, I had explored whole other universes."

Her face was almost sad. "So many worlds. Many resembled this place. Each time I would arrive and I would think 'this is it, this is where I belong' and I would be proven wrong. Again and again and again. Even as you doubt me, I doubt you in kind. How can _I _know _you're_ real? That you're really Agent Six and Rex and Dr. Holiday? You think you are, but so did all the others." She shook her head, eyes closing.

"I have watched universes end, lives burn, time itself running into ruin. Stars exploded, evil prevailed, an abyss devoured us all. And still I sought my place." She fell silent.

Dr. Holiday turned, trying to hide the sadness in her eyes. "I have a few more tests I could run," she muttered, although she wasn't sure anyone was listening. "Six, if you could follow me, I believe I could use your assistance." Six raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. His knowledge of biomachinery was limited at best, but Holiday's voice left no room for argument. She never acted without reason.

The young man stood absolutely still as his two friends left, the door sliding shut behind them. He opened and shut his mouth, spared his inability to make conversation when the young spoke again. "I watched you die." Her eyes opened, zeroing in on him. Her hand lifted itself again and Rex stiffened, thinking she was once again going to escape. But no. The hand rested on the glass between them.

"So many times. So many ways. I watched you boil and burn, torn limb from limb, drown, break, bleed out, and simply fail to wake up. And every time it hurt. Every time…although they weren't they right ones, the right Rexs…. in another world you were an evil dictator, master of the nanites. The rebel forces captured you in the end. And held a public execution. They hung you. Old school. And left your body out until the crows picked every part of you away. In another you never recovered from your first encounter with Van Kleiss, his claws marking you for life and weakening you. You simply rotted away.

You fell and I wasn't there to catch you.

You were stabbed in the back. And throat. And heart.

You grew sick, so very sick there was nothing anybody could do. I held your hand but in the end…in the end you didn't even know me anymore." She sighed and rested her forehead on the glass. Rex jumped, not having realized how close he had gotten to her, how his hand had pressed on the outline of hers. "Please understand," she whispered. "I can't stand it anymore. To me, you are already dead. Several times over. And anything I felt for you…it had to die too. I couldn't mourn each and every time. It would have crippled me." She pulled away. "And I had to be strong. If not for me, if not to find a place for _me, _then at least for my…my son." Rex jumped like he had been electrocuted, his eyes widening.

"W-what? You have…what?" She crossed her arms, staring him down. "My child." Rex couldn't breathe. His hands clasped and unfurled, his knees shook. Tears of either joy or fear threatened at the backs of his eyes. "I…I have a son?" his voice wavered. Nekane narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Why do you assume he's yours? He is _my _son and mine alone. He doesn't even know your name." As if not hearing her, Rex kept speaking. "I have a son. I have a _kid. Dios Mio…_" He wet his lips, throat dry as he began to pace. "That's can't be…I mean, how? I mean I know _how…_ I should have used protection…how could I not know? I guess it makes sense…...it's been ten years…._Dios Mio…_I have a _kid._ There's a kid out there…_" _He stopped to look at Nekane. "Wha…what's his name?" Nekane growled low in her throat.

"You _do not _have a son! He's mine!" Rex blinked. "I want to know his name."

"That sounds like a personal problem." Rex frowned. "Why won't you tell me?"

"Why _should_ I tell you?" Rex snarled. "I'm his father!"

"You're a _sperm donor!_" Rex slammed the palms of his hands against the glass of her prison. "TELL ME THE NAME OF MY CHILD!" Nekane hissed at him, baring her teeth with her ears flat against her skull. His eyes were burning with love and fury, so familiar it was bittersweet. "_I _birthed him! _I _nursed him! I spent sleepless nights wondering how I could save him when I couldn't even save myself! You dare think to claim him? You dare think to take what I so carefully raised and cared for?! You dare to-"

"I DIDN'T KNOW!" Rex roared. "How the Hell was I supposed to _know? _Damn it!" he banged the palms of his hands against the glass once more, pushing himself away. "Just this morning I kissed you goodbye. Just this morning! And then you reappear claiming to have been gone for _years _and I might have a son somewhere out there in some weird dimension possibly _unsupervised _as his crazy mother runs around universe hopping! Where the Hell is he? If he even _safe _with you? You choose now, of all fucking times, to be stubborn and mean while _our son _is out there alone and possibly scared, wondering where the fuck his family is? Does this really seem like the right thing to do?" He stormed back up to her, glaring into her dispassionate eyes.

"You're in the wrong fucking place. _My _Cheshire, _my _Nekane would never do this. She's caring, she's passionate, and the last thing she would _ever _do is try to withhold something like this from me!" He leaned in close, hot breath fogging the glass between them. "You're empty. Some sort of soulless monster in the skin of someone I cared about. Just an inter-dimensional demon, here to torture me. Where is Cheshire, Monster? Where is the girl you claim to be?" The young woman behind the glass seemed shocked by his outburst, expressed only by the slight lifting of her eyebrows. Her eyes roamed his face, tracing the tense lines on his forehead and beside his mouth, the cold flame in his gaze. His body was coiled as though preparing to rip her throat out.

She gave a low chuckle, hints of a smile on the corners of her mouth.

"You care so much for a child you've never even met. A child that you believe to be yours based on what? My 'love' for you? Your faith that I have been faithful in my travels?" Rex's face, formerly red from anger, grew a bit pale." Nekane closed her eyes. "What if you're _not_ his father? What then, Hero?" Rex pursed his lips, picking apart her face like she had done to his previously. A shimmer of something like realization entered his gaze.

"I...I know I'm his father," he said slowly. "You wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise. You were ready to retract him should I have dismissed your claim of being…of having a child. If I denied him. You're happy now, right? That you got a rise outta me, that I was and _am _so angry with you for trying to keep him from me." He took a breath.

"But you're torn. You want me to accept him but you don't want to lose the only thing you have that's solid. In case I'm not me, you need to have something you can cling to. But," his eyes were hard. "I'm the closest me you've met so far because I _am_ me.I'm Rex, and I don't care that they've _all _been Rex, but it's real this time. You gave them all a chance, right? And it hurt you, and I'm sorry. If you're really Cheshire, and you've really searched for so long, I'm so _sorry. _Sorry that it made you this way. But where's my chance?" Nekane looked at him hard. A smiled curled its way onto her face, although it wasn't exactly happy.

"You know me so well."

"I know." Rex pulled away, forcing himself to detach from this empty husk of a person. His body ached as though ill, his heart a heavy lump of bleeding coal in his chest. He couldn't bear to look at her…_it_ any longer. He just…he couldn't. He turned to leave.

"Nicolae." Rex froze, daring to look over his shoulder. "What?"

"It's is the Rumanian version of Nicholas. Derived from the Greek Goddess Nike, the lady of victory, the name means 'victory of the people'." She paused as she caught herself beginning to ramble. "I was very thorough in picking the perfect name. My child was born in Hell. In an abyss of a pocket universe. A Void. I never want that to stop him." Rex swallowed. "Nicolae," he spoke as if tasting the name. Nekane's ears twitched. "Small for his age, but he has more than his fair share of heart. Your eyes. My smile." A sliver of respect seemed to have entered her demeanor, along with the barest hints of hesitant hope. When it became obvious she had entered her own world, Rex left.

"So?" Six turned to Holiday, attempting to read her face. "What do you think?" The doctor pursed her lips, gaze directed downward. She was ashamed of having bugged the room but what else could she have done? If anyone could identify the wrong Cheshire, it was Rex. And the two evos needed time alone to really get each other talking. It couldn't be an interrogation; it had to be a conversation.

And had it ever been one.

Her guilt increased tenfold at having overheard such intimate talk.

She sighed.

"It's not _our_ Cheshire," she said slowly. "But if her claim of alternate dimensions proves true, she could still be Cheshire. We have no reason to keep her locked up."

"How could you tell she wasn't Cheshire?" Six asked almost immediately and Holiday had to keep herself from blurting out her reasoning. Cheshire was sterile. How could she have a child? That just didn't happen. But perhaps if another Cheshire was alive, somewhere out there in the multiverse in a similar situation to their own, she would have a child. By that Rex. And perhaps the poor thing had indeed been wandering, searching, for a decade.

Holiday wasn't sure how to tell Rex without _telling _Rex. Their Cheshire's sterility was the young woman's business and something she alone had the right to announce. Holiday was well aware of her place on the matter. But how long could she let this go on? What about when the real Cheshire –_their _Cheshire- found her way home?

"A gut feeling," she said aloud to answer Six's question.

"It's just a feeling I have."


	14. Chapter 14

**BB says: **Did you forget about me? I didn't forget about you guys (despite the implications of my absence) no excuses; just life. And my terrible writer's block. My life hasn't been the same since _Generator Rex_ went off the air...

"_It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards,"_

_~Lewis Carroll_

Footsteps on a hard floor, pausing before continuing at a much slower pace. They approached Cheshire, and she screwed up her face unconsciously.

They were looking at her, she just knew, and she would rather continue sleeping than have them whispering beside her, shaking her awake. Frankly she felt as though she had been through a great deal in the past few hours and deserved a bit of a catnap.

"Go away, Miss Holiday," she grouched, turning over. Or trying to. She only managed to scoot a little on the mattress, so moving her head to the side had to be enough to prove her displeasure. The voice persisted however, and Cheshire soon came to realize it belonged to no one she knew. Alarms rang in her drowsy brain and her fingers clenched slightly.

"You're not…" she mumbled, eyes peeking open, nostrils flaring.

"Miss Holiday? No." The woman who stood at her side had a haughty look on her face, mouth screwed up in something that was either resentful relief or displeasure. She was pretty enough, with hair sharing the golds and oranges and reds one may see in a gala apple. Green eyes that were almost unnatural in their color were pointy as they looked at Cheshire, pink limps drawn into a bitter little bow on a porcelain doll face.

Cheshire sighed. Too tired. Been through a lot. Sleep now. "Okay, can you tell me whatever the Hell is going on after I wake up? If you work for Providence please hold off on dissecting me until I get my nap in. If you're an independent pharmaceutical company, put together a presentation showing me why you should be considered a threat and or an ally. Either way, see you in a few hours." Cheshire re-closed her eyes. She heard Red at her side taking a breath to speak and the evo rudely interrupted, cranky with exhaustion. "No! Seriously. You can tell me whatever mess I've gotten myself into later! Do you _know_ how long I've been up? Huh? What manner of icky monsters and floating orbs I've had to deal with? LEAVE ME ALONE."

The woman at her bedside sputtered with indignation. "Y-you...! Careless, absentminded, selfish _sow_! We both know exactly what mess you've gotten yourself into! And _no regrets? None? _No, you roll over in _my_ flipping guest bed like you own the place, like its just my job to be your shit catcher!" The woman growled like she had suffered a personal affront taking Cheshire aback. "You're a real idiot you know! I can't believe how reckless you are! Did you even _think _about what you were doing? Did you even take into account who you were leaving behind? Really, Nekane, I thought I knew you better than-"

"Wait." Cheshire pulled herself into a sitting position, giving the woman her full attention. "You know my name?" The annoyed look on the woman's face increased tenfold.  
>"Of course you moron! We've only known each other for what, a frickin' <em>decade<em>? Now isn't the time for-"

"But," Cheshire interrupted again, mildly alarmed. "Who are you?" Her visitor opened and shut her mouth, eyebrow quirked. "I refuse to play games with you, Nekane. You're not being cute." Cheshire's silence must have said it all, for a brief look of surprise and concern flickered on the ginger's face. She rolled her eyes to mask it. "I'm Gwen? Gwen Tennyson? We're friends! The Plumbers pulled you from the null a decade ago?" Cheshire's face remained confused and the newly introduced Gwen only grew more concerned. "You really don't…don't know me?" She lunged forward before Cheshire could react, grabbing the evo by the face and twisting her head to and fro. Whatever she saw was highly alarming; her eyes grew wide and her mouth slackened in disbelief. "Oh. Oh no." Confused, Cheshire watched the woman begin to pace, muttering to herself.

"I knew it was possible.. they had warned me of this potential consequence. But now? And like this? How-"

"Mama!" It was an orange and blue blur darting towards her bed, easily dodging Gwen's outstretched arms and leaping upon Cheshire's legs in a way that was naively cruel. Cheshire inhaled deeply, more in shock then in pain, as the rambunctious youth settled on her body and eyed her with nothing short of adoration.

He was a little guy, perhaps eight or nine, with tousled hair the color of honey wheat and a wide, gentle looking face. He was thin in a healthy way, his limbs holding spots that were still soft with baby flesh and his caramel skin smooth and sweet smelling. Some part of Cheshire ached at the scent of him, something beneath the smell of baby lotion and grass. Something primal that made her want to snarl and pull him closer, allow him to bury his face against her and rest. But his eyes…no, his _eyes _terrified her and enthralled her in a way she couldn't understand.

As he smiled a gap toothed smile, several baby teeth gone, Rex's mahogany eyes twinkled in his face.

Cheshire stiffened in confusion and fear at this creature, unsure how to proceed. She was spared the agony of action as gentle arms wrapped about the boy's waist, lifting him from Cheshire despite his protest.

"No!_Tía __Gwen__! __Quiero hablar__con la mamá_!" He whined, little hands waving in the air dejectedly. Although he appeared to be reaching for her, all Cheshire could do was watch him in fascination. Her silence on the matter only seemed to stir him up further, and his whining devolved into full-on howling and flailing. Such bratty behavior was deplorable. Cheshire frowned deeply.

Once again reacting to her behavior strangely, the little boy calmed and watched Cheshire with wide, pleading eyes. Gwen sighed.

"I know you missed her, Nicky," she soothed, still holding him close. "But your mom is a little tired from her journey. How about you let her sleep a little more?" Nicky pouted harder but Cheshire's steadying look kept him from reinstating his violent rebellion. "_Mamá_," he sulked beseechingly. "Didn't you miss me?" Cheshire startled, neck muscles straining as her head tried to search behind herself for the child's mother. The only thing behind her was the wall, of course, and she found it highly unlikely that the boy was the spawn of plaster. Poor thing must have been confused; surely Gwen would explain once they had gotten rid of him?

"Of course I did, er, Nicky. I'm just tired. Go play. I'll find you later." Nicky's forlorn pout morphed into an ill-tempered scowl as he stilled in Gwen's arms. The woman lowered him onto his feet and he crossed his arms with a "fine", storming out of the room.

Even fitful, the child was adorable. Cheshire felt a smile seek admittance to her lips, turned away by her discontent. Gwen closed the door gently, fierce gaze upon Cheshire so suddenly the evo startled. She barely managed to roll from the bed to the floor before something pink whizzed over her head and struck the wall behind her. Gasping a little, she struggled to scrape together a bit of her own powers to counteract the energies Gwen was throwing her way, constructing a weak field about herself. It was all she could manage. Gwen's upper lip crinkled in distaste as Cheshire watched her owlishly from within her sanctuary. Gwen tossed another ball of energy and although Cheshire winced, it ricocheted off her shield and blasted a nearby lamp to shards.

"Gwenny, baby," Cheshire laughed uneasily. "Ease up, would ya? Are you gonna kill me after saving me? Doesn't that seem a bit counter-productive? Aren't we friends?" Gwen's scowl deepened. "No," she deadpanned. "I'm friends with the _real _Nekane. Not her knock-off. The _real _Nekane…" purple energy arose from the ground beneath Cheshire's feet, encircling her field with a lining of powers outside of hers. Her safety became a prison.

"Would have seen that coming a mile away." Cheshire pouted, turning her own field inside out and letting it prod against the one Gwen had constructed. "You know the worst part?" the blonde sighed. "I _did _see it coming. Well, I thought it could happen. Anything can happen anytime..." she moved to wave her hand in front of her face dismissively. "But I just don't have the energy to stop-" Her eyes widened as her sentenced choked on itself and died. Eyes going wide, she suddenly had the urge to vomit, body a strange land to her as she gazed upon her limb. Because it was now that she noticed something that _really _shouldn't have escaped her radar. If it hadn't, perhaps she would be howling in pain and horror right about now.

That's what people do when they wake up and find one of their hands missing, right?

Her mouth opened and shut as though trying to conjure up the scream she thought she should be succumbing to, eyes bugged wide as her stupid _stupid _body kept trying to wiggle the fingers on her left hand. Oh, God, she couldn't _breathe. _Was she hyperventilating? Was this what a panic attack felt like? Have she finally reached that point of adventure when even she had had enough? She felt her bubble pop inside Gwen's, cradled in a field of magenta power as she grasped her arm.

"Hey…" she heard Gwen's voice somewhere outside of her own panicked gasps, but couldn't form a response.

"Hey!" she didn't respond as Gwen's field vanished and she fell to her knees.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Gwen's arms wound themselves around Cheshire, holding her tight and keeping her grounded. "It's okay. It's okay! You have to breathe. Are you in pain? Did the painkillers stop working?" Teeth clenched, Cheshire silently continued to stare down at her wrist as Gwen gently shook her. "I'm sorry I attached you like that, okay? With inter-dimensional travel we have to be careful, you know? And I wasn't sure if you were like the evil Nekane or some shit…oh God, please calm down."

Cheshire blinked her eyes rapidly, not surprised to find tears drifting down. There was no pain…_yet, _but she couldn't believe…couldn't…

"…what happened?" she whispered into Gwen's shoulder, arm twitching. The other woman sighed. "You…we think you left it in the Void." She gave Cheshire another squeeze before pulling away to look at her face. "I was wondering why you traveled through it. It's so dangerous to travel alone. You…Nekane hates it, and its damn near impossible to escape without outside help. But if you're from another universe you wouldn't know, I guess. It's a miracle the rest of you made it out okay." Cheshire nodded numbly, morbidly wondering how the bandages wrapped around her injury were so pristine white. Shouldn't they be a terrible, rotten red by now?

"We burned the injury on site to keep you from bleeding out while we transported you here." It seemed this Gwen person could read minds. "We'll have to re-open it to attach your prosthetic, but we didn't want you dying on our watch, you know? You've…Nekane has been gone a long time. Longer than usual. It was hard enough to explain to Nicky what happened." Cheshire's entire body was numb.

"Oh," she said weakly. "Okay." Gwen nodded shallowly, still trying to read Cheshire's face. "Okay?"

"Okay…hey Gwen?"

"Yeah?"

"I think…I think I'm gonna go ahead and faint now, 'kay?" She really didn't care about Gwen's answer; just though it would be polite to warn people before keeling over.

She awoke to the sun shining directly into her face. Her eyes scrunched in irritation, wondering when she was finally going to teach Berry how to close curtains.

But then she remembered she wasn't home.

And she only had one hand.

Her eyes shot open in alarm heart hammering roughly. She struggled to get her bearings.

Somewhere…safe? Yes, she was relatively safe. Gwen had gotten over her need to kill her, and she was lying in a bed, not on a rock. Step in the right direction. She wasn't in her clothes anymore, and she assumed that they had been tattered beyond repair and Gwen had simply given up on them. In any case, she was wearing what looked and felt like a large sleep shirt, gentle against her bandages. She had probably been in these new clothes before fainting but really hadn't been paying attention considering everything she had been through in the past…day? Had it only been a day?

Where was Alpha?

Where was_ she_?

She tried to lay her hand over her face, grimacing as she was once again reminded of her condition. She switched hands quickly as though to trick herself. The sunlight peeked through the cracks in her fingers and, strangely enough, she felt tears forming. That was weird. Did they have a purpose?

Some scientists believe that tears are a communication device privy to humans and certain primates. That humans evolved to possess such a thing in order to express severe distress so that one's pack would act in defense of the wounded individual. But Cheshire's pack wasn't there. And she wasn't entirely certain she would ever see them again. What had she done? This was karma, wasn't it? Just a matter of time before her acting independently, regardless of consequences, caught up with her. She had always just thought it would kill her if anything…maybe? Didn't everyone her age think they were invincible, though, that youth would protect them? She was barely out of her teens, after all, and nothing can kill a teenager.

The tears became thicker, blurring her vision as she choked back a sob. Damn it. _Pull it together, Cheshire. You can't do anything if you panic._

"Mama? Are you okay?" A little body at her side stirred, and she looked down into the face of the invader.

"Yeah," it disturbed her that this kid was forced to see someone he thought of as his mother crying. All the more so when he thought that person was her. "Just…really glad to be…to be home…" Nicky's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Smart kid. Cheshire was unjustly proud. She wondered if this dimension's Rex was proud as well. Assuming this was his kid. The child was the spitting image of a younger Rex, so who else's would he be? Cesar's?

The thought made her stomach turn.

"Yeah?" The little boy had cocked his head to the side, an action that Cheshire did when thinking very deeply. Cheshire smiled gently, running her hand through his hair. So _soft! _

"Yeah, Nicky. Don't worry about your mom, okay? She's gonna be alright." Cheshire meant that in reference to his real mother, of course, but Nicky applied it in reference to her. Her laid his head upon her chest with a smile, arms wedging themselves between her back and the mattress to force her into a hug.

…strong little guy.

"I was…I was really afraid, Mama," he mumbled against her chest bone. "It took you so long to come home this time. And your hand...and you were asleep for so long...I thought…" he sniffled, and Cheshire was horrified to find he was on the verge of tears. God, that seemed that the most terrible thing in the world to her. She never wanted her son to feel pain.

_But he wasn't __**hers **__was he?_

"It's okay _mijo_," she soothed awkwardly, patting him with her hand. "Your mama will always come back to you." He lifted his head, smearing tears and snot across her shirt. "You promise?"

How could she?

"Yeah," she smiled brightly, pulling his wet face close to hers to plant an affectionate kiss on his forehead. "Of course." His smile was such a beautiful thing to her.

"Alright," she pulled herself away, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and ignoring the vertigo of her sudden movements. "Let's go see what's for breakfast."

She was obviously in someone's high-end apartment. Someplace with wood floors and futuristic white furniture. The hallway was long but she could see it ended in a large living space complete with two couches and a _very _nice…television? A super high-tech television. The screen wasn't glass or even some sort of fancy plasma, it was a holographic image. Seated in front of the TV was a boy who looked to be around Nicky's age, engaged in a very violent looking (and also highly entertaining) video game. His dark brown head shifted a bit, signifying the fact he heard the approach of Cheshire and Nicky, but he didn't turn around. He was too busy scowling at the game, which had just presented a "GAME OVER".

"KEN! You unpaused it?!" Nicky shouted, rushing past Cheshire and sliding to sit beside his compatriot.

"Dude, you went to wake your mom like an hour ago! What was I supposed to do?"

"It's not like you could beat the boss without me! You've used almost all our lives, _cara idiota!"_

"Who are you calling an idiot head, you poo face?"

"Who you calling a poo face, you booger licker?"

"Boys, please. I'm sure Nekane is tired and in no mood for your nonsense." Cheshire hadn't noticed Gwen stacking pancakes onto plates until she spoke. "How'd you sleep?" her voice grew gentle as she looked to her guest, eyes vaguely disturbed but concerned all the same.

"I'm…alright. Still a little dizzy." Gwen nodded, turning back to the children. "Hey boys, how do you feel about eating in front of the TV?" Two pairs of eyes lit up. "Really? You're not just teasing?" Ken's smile was blinding, and he had what Cheshire was starting to see as the family's green eyes. Gwen shrugged. "Well, it's not every day my two favorite guys spend the night. Why not?"

Cheshire helped to get the boys settled in a way she felt an older, more responsible her would; making sure they didn't trip and get syrup and milk everywhere, putting silverware on their plates, smiling distantly the whole time. She felt itchy and wrong in her skin.

She and Gwen sat at the kitchen table. She was comforted to see that Gwen knew how much she favored tea, as a cup of raspberry rooibos found its way in front of her.

They sat in silence for a moment, sipping their warm breakfast and listening to the petty bickering in the next room, the clacking of silverware.

Cheshire had a lot of questions. But…she wasn't sure where to begin. Where was she? _Who _was she? If this world already had a Nekane…where did she belong?

"So…" she began somewhat wearily. "Nekane has put Nicky through a lot, huh?" Gwen sighed, stirring a lump of sugar into her tea. "The _world _has put Nicky through a lot Ne-….ummm, what would you like to be called?"

"Cheshire is fine."

"Alright…Cheshire, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a normal human. Neither is Nekane, or Ken, or Ken's family. There is no way for Nicky to have a normal childhood with all these eccentrics in his family." Cheshire made to speak but Gwen cut her off. "Not to say he hasn't had a wonderful life. He's Nekane's _world. _And an incurable mama's boy." Gwen chuckled. Cheshire smiled gamely. "But his existence proves I'm not your friend, you know," the evo made to rest her chin on her hand, was reminded, once again (the final time, she promised herself, THE LAST DAMN TIME), that she didn't have the hand she wanted, and sighed. "I can't have kids. And it's not something I'm want for myself, in any case. I have more issues then a comic book series." Gwen pursed her lips.

"That just confuses things worse, if anything. Nekane didn't think she could have kids either. Never had or has had her period. But "poof!" and there's Nicky, existing. She said he was a miracle, but I just wonder if her physiology is just different from a human woman's." Cheshire took a moment to let this sink it. Was it even possible…?

No.

Right?

"B-but what about my age?" Cheshire continued to argue. "I mean, Nekane is like, what, in her thirties by now? And I'm obviously _not_." Gwen shook her head. "No. But you're the spitting image, hot off the copy machine. Nekane hasn't aged a day since we met. She still looks like she roughly twenty, of that. Again, strange physiology. For all intents and purposes, you _are _Nekane."

Cheshire huffed. "That's my real name and everything, you know."

"I do. Nekane once mentioned have the nickname 'Cheshire'-"

"Like that cat-"

"That you are."

They both smiled. Yeah, Cheshire could totally see another her being friends with this woman.

"So…where do we start? How did you and I…you and Nekane…become buddies? Strangers in a strange land?" Gwen shook her head. "It's… you're not the easiest person to get along with, you know? This you, the way you are _right now, _I've only caught_ glimpses_ of in Nekane. She has always been sort of _hardened_. Good sense of humor but sort of cold, like it was just too much for her to bear a smile or two." Cheshire grinned humorlessly, all teeth. Nicky screamed in Spanish in the other room, followed by Ken's laughter.

"Yes," the evo murmured softly, after a moment. "I can see that becoming an issue." Her ears pressed themselves to her head, tail flicking. Her words were hard and chilled, chipped at the edges with a frosted glaze overtaking her eyes Gwen watched the brief transformation with her head cocked to the side, the look of unsettled acceptance reappearing on her face. "Yeah," she whispered to herself. "Just like that." Cheshire instantly brightened. "Hm? What was that, Gwen?" Gwen shock her head to dismiss the statement but continued on the same track. "Nekane has matured a lot since her…"Cheshire phase". I didn't know her as Cheshire so it's nice to meet you, I guess."

"So you met once she'd settled in her skin? Interesting. Do spill the beans in the bowl."

Gwen sighed. And started her story.

Nekane Warren was found during a routine check of the Null Void's well maintained systems. The team that had gone in –an intergalactic organization known as the Plumbers- was given the task of ensuring there had been no breaches or "wrinkles" that could threaten the integrity of the prison universe. When they had come across Nekane it had been entirely on accident. If they hadn't found her when they did, it was hard to say what would have become of her. It was uncomfortable to think about.

Thin and feral, what was more alarming then the challenging glint in her eyes and her bared teeth was perhaps the fact that the creature's body obviously lacked the strength to back up her challenge. Her eyes were hooded and pained, fatigue periodically causing spams through shaking her body. She looked to be on the verge of falling into unconsciousness, hanging on the edges of awareness by the tips of her fingers. She was hunched, arms crossed, blood trickling down her legs to pool on the ground around her. There, clutched close to her breasts, was a wailing newborn.

One of the most difficult things about saving the young woman -who they naturally assumed was an alien- was pulling her son from her arms long enough to get both mother and child the medical attention they so desperately needed. The Plumbers had to administer severe sedatives, and even then the unconscious female clung to the baby, grimace frozen on her face. The hospital she was admitted to had quite the time with the wounded creature. They couldn't begin to deduce how she had wound up in the Null Void without anyone noticing. The universe was closely monitored for change and evidence seemed to suggest the woman had been trapped for _months_.

The infant was premature, deaf, anemic, and suffering from acute Vitamin D deficiency; all these problems the hospital was equipped well enough to solve. But the mother was hardly what they could consider to be reasonable. She herself had suffered trauma to the pelvis and hips from the rough birth, having lost a considerable amount of blood and fluids to the process. Her body was also wracked with vitamin deficiencies and was terribly thin; it had been a miracle she had been able to carry her baby as long as she did.

Her actions were violent and feral and she made no effort to communicate with her "rescuers". She thrashed about wildly, screeching incoherently and swiping blindly at all who approached. Her weakened body proved to be little hindrance as they discovered she had powers outside of the hospital's understanding; even with the presence of aliens on earth broadening their medicinal knowledge, the young woman seemed to be a beast all her own.

Her powers only grew as she recovered, the edges of her body blurring in what they could only assume were her attempts to escape her bondage. They were lucky no one was injured in those first rough days, not for lack of Nekane trying. They kept her as sedated as best they could, mixing new anesthesia every time her accelerated metabolism learned to fight the last.

Soon they were at their wits' end with the strange woman, who only grew more powerful and more violent day by day. There was no getting through to her; she had either lost her mind somewhere in the void or had belonged there as an intergalactic danger. She had been moved to the special section of the psych ward meant to contain those with…_special _needs. Needs that required Plumbers to stand guard and evacuation protocol ready should the floor need to be placed on lock-down.

It was around this time that Gwen entered the scene. Her grandfather and her cousin were both high-ranking Plumbers; the infamous Max and Ben Tenyson. Gwen herself was well respected in the organization and her diplomatic prowess was admired both on earth and abroad. She was familiar with the Plumber's databases and the cultural expectations of even the strangest extraterrestrial visitors. There was a rumor that as a child she had even been called upon to battle a few aliens before the treaties protecting the earth and its people had been finalized.

Upon arrival at the hospital Gwen met with Dr. Richard Greys, a man with a name from a Soap opera without the star looks to back it up. Short and balding, he was constantly dabbing at the sweat beading on his forehead as he led his honored guest to what his orderlies called "The Zoo Room". Gwen had frowned at the name.

Too many humans were still too damn racist.

"We have still been unable to speak with her," Dr. Richards said, expensive shoes clacking on the tile. "She's unresponsive to all stimuli save for pain, and she responds to that with physical violence. She broke a nurse's arm just two days ago, and attempted to brain me with her IV." The portly little man shook his head. "We've been able to keep her under since then, but she's already starting to stir again. Perhaps it's best if you save your visit for another day-"

Gwen had scoffed. "Thank you for your concern, Dr. Greys. But I'm sure you're aware I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." Choosing not to respond, Dr. Greys continued with this story. "Considering her lack of progress and the obvious danger she poses to herself and others, your visit is viewed as somewhat of a…_formality. _We've already begun petitioning the Plumbers, as I'm sure you're aware, to have her placed back into the Null Void Universe. Her child will be integrated into the adoption program available through the hospital. We already have a newly married couple appealing to the board for custody. Lovely people, owners of a big house with a big yard they're hoping to fill with kids." Gwen scrunched her eyebrows together as she looked at her guide.

"And this is concerning the alien's child?"

"Yes. As I'm sure you're aware, she was found with an infant in her arms, and tests have shown that she is indeed his biological mother. Judging from her state upon entry to the hospital, she had just birthed him on the rock where she was discovered. We have stabilized the infant to where it would be safe to release him from the hospital. He appears, for all intents and purposes, to be human, despise his maternal lineage. There should be no trouble integrating him into society." That didn't rub Gwen the right way. "And you've kept him from her this entire time?"

"For his own safety. So that she wouldn't do something we would all come to regret. We have deduced that one of the _many _things wrong with the creature is that she is suffering from postpartum depression."

"Has she been in contact with the baby at all since being brought here?" Dr. Greys puffed out his chest proudly. "We have been able to keep her from him since her first day. The child remains safe while in our care."

"Do you have any evidence that she wants to hurt her son?" Dr. Greys deflated slightly. "Well, no," he confessed "but her violent treatment of the orderlies and nurses suggests-"

"You're all idiots, aren't you?" Gwen said with deadly calm, crossing her arms. "I want the baby."

Dr. Greys paled. "W-what? With all due respect-"

"No. You haven't considered all your options. You acted without thinking and the current situation is due to your own carelessness. All of this is just your own interpretation of a "feral" alien that you must protect any innocent human from; even if that human is her child. For all we know she's a _victim _not a _monster. _And you've taken her baby from her. Can you image what that must feel like? To be lost, in pain, and, to top it off, strangers kidnap you and take your child away? Now I'll ask you really nicely one more time before I get some of my friends in the Intergalactic Travelers' Rights Agency to come down on your heads hard and fast," a surge of pink power sparked in Gwen's eyes as she glared down at the doctor. "Get. Me. That. Baby. And wake up his mother."

Gwen hadn't been able to say with entire confidence that she was doing the right thing. Sure, she'd heard about how powerful this particular alien was and how she only seemed to be gaining strength. How she was vindictive and insane and marked as savage. But Gwen had been honest when she had said she could hold her own, and there was no way she could back down with the little audience that had gathered to watch her enter the dreaded room 321.

It was ice cold in the room, and the machines pumping the alien full of sedatives had all been turned off. The female lay on her back, one arm face up to allow the tubing access. Her white hair was spread about on the sheets and pillow, long and soft-looking, topped with ears that suggest her race was similar to the earth felines. Her skin was black as coal and she made small, whimpering noises with each exhalation. Her face –still sallow with ill-health- was humanoid, lax and almost peaceful in slumber, long white lashes resting against a dark face. Gwen chanced a step forward, arms tightening defensively around the infant in her arms. A lovely baby, nameless and small for his age, staring up at her intelligently. One could hardly believe this seemingly average human child was the spawn of something as terrifyingly, disturbingly, _beautiful _as what lay before her.

Surely the alien wasn't one of those species that kill their young if they smell like another…right?

"This is your mom," she cooed gently into the chubby little face. Wide eyes, very conscious of their surroundings, looked back up at her. After a couple of weeks in the hospital, the baby was finally a healthy newborn weight. "And we have to help her, right? Or you may never see her again. And you love her, don't you? So that would be a terrible thing." Perhaps she shouldn't have spoken. It was like she had disturbed some inner peace with the newborn, as his little face reddened and wrinkled. Tiny fists began to wave in upset, and he release a tiny, tinny, cry.

"N-no! Shhh! I'm sorry!"

The air grew heavy. Gwen looking up from the distressed infant to see the eyes of the alien in question open, startling blue eyes zeroed in on the child. She hadn't moved from the bed yet, and Gwen wondered if she was still working the sedatives from her system. Just in case, Gwen moved even slower as she approached, power tingling in her fingertips.

"Hello," she greeted gamely, forcing a smile onto her face. "My name is Gwendolyn Tenyson. You may call me Gwen, if you want." The alien didn't respond, eyes still on the wailing prize. "I brought you your baby. He's still a little sick, but they say he's better than he was. So there's no reason to keep him from you. I'm sorry for all the confusion." When Gwen was three steps from the bed the alien came to life. Teeth gnashed and pupils narrowed to pinpricks she thrashed upon the bed, struggling against her restraints. The frame screamed with the force of her movements, and Gwen erected a defensive shield, ready to put the alien female _down _if the situation continued to escalate.

The belts strapping the alien to her bed snapped one by one, the female's wide, feral eyes still on Gwen and the baby even as she struggled viciously. Once her limbs were free, a black arm lifted to sharp canines, which tore and ripped until every tube and wire was removed from her body, little streams of blood leaking from little memories of their drugs. The alien spate them to the ground like the poison they were, nostrils flaring as she bared her teeth at them. When she was finished the alien laid back on her bed, relaxing once again Her eyes fell back into their hooded state as her hands clenched and unfurled thoughtlessly.

Gwen was hesitant to start moving again, shield still up. The infant's cries softened to little whimpers of misery, and Gwen realized she was bouncing him a bit too hard to be comforting. She glance down to check him and when she looked up again the alien's eyes locked with her own. They stood in tense silence for a moment.

…._Baby._

Gwen jumped, alarmed as the word drifted across her mind. The female gingerly pulled herself into a sitting position, wincing. It was possible to see deep hallows under her eyes as she once again made eye contact with Gwen.

_Please…let me have my baby._ It ended in a growl this time, a warning as sure as the twitching lip that threatened a snarl.

"You've been more headache then you needed to be," Gwen scowled. "You've understood everything all along, haven't you?" The alien just cocked her head to the side. When it became obvious she wasn't going to response to Gwen's accusation, the redhead sighed and ruefully continued her approach.

She glared suspiciously at the alien as she carefully laid the child into his mother's lap. She stayed close in case she had to snatch him back into relative safety. Gently, the alien's black arms pulled up to tenderly press her lips to her son's forehead, clucking at his soft whines. To Gwen's pleasant surprise, the alien began cooing incoherently under her breath as she looked at her son, rocking him much calmer than Gwen had done. Tears glazed cerulean eyes, a small smile playing at dark lips.

"He's…he's a very pretty baby," Gwen said gently, not quite daring to make herself comfortable. "I recently acquired a baby cousin myself. Have you thought of a name?" The female alien jerked, gaze shooting back to Gwen. She glared at Gwen in challenge, clinging her son closer to her chest as though afraid Gwen would move to reclaim him. Gwen lifted up her hands, taking a step back. "I'll let you guys be alone. For a bit. I'll be back again…if you want." The alien just continued to glare.

Gwen left the room feeling quite accomplished. "Bring her his bed," she ordered Dr. Greys like she owned the hospital. "Let him sleep in there with her. And don't drug her anymore; I think it's counterproductive to her recovery."

"B-but," a nurse spoke up. "If we don't drug her she could hurt somebody."

"Trust me, if you keep her doped up _and_ without her child, she'll find a way to hurt somebody _anyway. _It's not wise to separate a mother from her young." Dr. Greys frowned. "We have professional psychologists who have advised the exact opposite of what you're suggesting Ms. Tenyson," he informed unnecessarily. "You couldn't possibly have made more of a difference in ten minutes then we've been trying to make for weeks." Gwen frowned. "Dr. Greys, your psychologists are for the _human _psyche. Her mind and the mind of every other alien is still a field in progress; she can't be diagnosed by comparing her to a human in the same situation. And that's why from here on out she'll be under the supervision of the Plumbers. I'll be back in a few days check on her." And Gwen was gone before they could argue further.

Gwen couldn't say why she was working this hard for a complete stranger. Maybe she just really liked a project. Something to challenge her.

When she came back she was surprised at how much progress the alien female had made. The color was back in her cheeks, life in her eyes when she looked up to watch Gwen enter. The straps that had once bound her to the bed were gone and the curtains had been opened to let in the sunlight. Several books were scattered on the mattress around her and, considering none of the orderlies had given sign the alien tolerated them yet, Gwen wondered where all the literature had come from.

The baby was sleeping in a bassinet that most definitely was not hospital issue, pulled as close to his mother as she could get him, her foot gently rocking the little bed.

"I'm back," Gwen smiled brightly. "Do you remember me?" The alien waited a moment before nodding slowly, eyes wary. "I see you've been keeping busy. I was actually going to ask you if they'd found a way to help the days go by. But I guess that question's been answered, huh?" Another nod. Gwen noticed that the books were predominantly history, with bits of culture and language mixed in.

"Well, I guess you don't really need me then, huh? Although we could discuss book choices. For instance" she gestured to one of the books on the bed, retracting her arms when the alien flinched defensively. "I noticed you're reading Dante's _Divine Comedy _in the original Italian. Do you speak it?" The alien just looked at her. "Myself," Gwen kept speaking, pulling up a stool. "I prefer French. It's a little closer to English I think. Although, if that's my logic, maybe Spanish is better. What language do they speak where you're from?" The alien looked puzzled for a bit, before she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Sensing another boundary, Gwen back off. "We'll get to that later then? It's not like we don't have time…" The blonde didn't respond. But that wasn't quite a "no" either.

It became routine for Gwen to stop by every few days, speaking to the alien woman and watching her facial expressions slowly evolve back to a human level. She began offering a few more smiles and displays of a (somewhat vicious) sense of humor. More than once Gwen walked in to see her cooing incoherently at her son, the infant watching his mother in fascination and the alien's eyes filled with so much love it was unbearable. Eventually she stopped schooling her face into bitter impassivity when Gwen entered the room.

Over a month into her visits Gwen came in grinning. Al –the name that Gwen had taken to mentally calling her new associate- cocked her head to the side in curiosity as she looked at Gwen. She had long since reverted to a shade of mocha brown rather than midnight. It was then possible for Gwen to note how young she was and how average she seemed. If not for the ears and the tail, Gwen would think Al was just another young mother gently nursing her baby, books and notebooks surrounding her on the bed.

"They say they're releasing you from the hospital!" Gwen felt like jumping up and down. "They finally believe me when I tell them that you're normal. It took them long enough to figure out that I'm smarter then they want to believe. Skating on my cousin's coattails _indeed._" She snorted, earning a smile from Al. "I've decided that once you're out you're coming to stay with me. I insist. Just until you get back on your feet. You can repay me later. " In all this time, they still hadn't found Al's home or native world. The alien was of little help, only giving confused looks when asked where she hailed from. They tacked amnesia onto her long list of problems.

"I'll help you get acquainted with Earth. It's a great place. And we've really advanced a lot in the past few years. You'll see; it'll be just like home before you know it." The barest traces of pain flickered through Al's eyes. Gwen smiled gently. "Don't worry. We'll defiantly find your home. Let's just get you on your feet first. Make sure your little one's got a stable environment to rely on." Al put on a forced smile. "Good. Well, I ordered you a celebration cake to be delivered to your room, but for some reason beyond me it still isn't here. So now I have to go raise Hell at the information desk. If you'll excuse me-"

"I've decided on a name." Al's tail flickered free of the sheets. It took Gwen a moment to realize that her mute friend had spoken. She turned slowly, eyes wide. Al had made no attempt to talk to her since the first time they met. And she spoke in such perfect English! "It took me a minute, but I've decided on one I like." Gwen knew she should stop gapping. If she made this too awkward Al might decide to shut down again. Her voice was surprisingly smooth, soothingly deep, for someone who had been silent for so long.

"Nicolae, I think. It's…regal." She gently brushed her fingers on her son's face. He snuffled gently, gradually falling asleep as he nuzzled closer to his mother's breast. "Nicolae…my little king. I was hoping for a Basque name like mine but I couldn't find one I liked better than Nicolae." Her voice cracked, and she shook her head, beaming at Gwen. The latter blinked, pulling herself together. "Basque?" An Earth language? "What's your name then?" Al grinning cheekily, ears swiveling. "Nekane."

"Wow…" Gwen forced herself to pull her thoughts together. "You know, this whole time I've mentally been calling you Al?"

"…actually, you've called me that a few times unconsciously."

"You could've stopped me sooner!"

"I didn't feel like it." Laughter bubbled up in Gwen, escaping before she could stop it. This alien…this _person _never failed to surprise her. Just as she grew comfortable with what she thought she was dealing with she was thrown another curve-ball. It was both nauseating and exhilarating. This puzzle that had landed in the Anodite-hybrid's lap was one she was willing to unwind, if only to satisfy her own curiosity. She was soon laughing hysterically, although honestly, it wasn't that funny. Her own wild laughter was accented by the rusty chuckles of Nekane, the newly named Nicolae burbling as he was shaken from his mother's bosom.

It wasn't long after that Gwen learned that Nekane wasn't quite… normal. At least not for this current Earth. The advancement of the third rock from the sun seemed to startle and leave her in awe, technology that many aliens still considered to be rudimentary knocking her breathless. Nekane was amazed by _everything_, wondering at hover boards and holograms and insisting on making conversation with every species of alien she ran into, asking their names and race and language.

Gwen was amazed by this eccentric _creature _from beyond; was it her, just months ago, who was a snarling psychopath? This strange woman flitting from being to being, somehow able to connect with each and every one? Just what had Gwen found? It was all the wonder of happening upon a UFO, back before they were a common occurrence and when one was still greeted with scrutiny. Nekane was something this world had never seen before.

An evo. A mutated human from another universe.

Where aliens were still kept secret at Area 51.

And the Earth had a bit of a miniature robot infestation.

"We have our best minds trying to get you… Nekane, home," Gwen finished her story. "There's a theory that the longer she's here the more fallible the line between universes becomes. It's dangerous for the being of one universe to become cemented in another. It's possible that she could come into contact with herself from this universe and that this could cause some sort of cataclysm. It's just an idea, one they're still working on either proving or disproving, but at least they're trying to help. That's where Nekane is now. Universe hopping." Gwen sighed. "It's been a rough decade for her, despite our efforts. We've come _close _on every occasion, closer on some trips than others but…" Gwen blew a short raspberry. "_Nada. _Frankly, I'm worried we'll never find her Earth, that she'll just be wandering forever. At this point I just want what's best for her…for her to find a home, whether its here or elsewhere."

Cheshire nodded, head spinning. "So…how does she get back every time? How does she know the way here?"

Gwen's cup was now empty. She looked at it regrettably. "A tracker. Specially keyed onto the higgs boson particles of our universe. We call them bread crumbs." Gwen smirked. "Nekane likes fairy tales."

"Aa…" Cheshire said slowly, staring at her tea leaves. "There's a super advanced Earth out there? One that'll wow my socks off and set me spinning when I step out of your front door?"

"Yep. Pretty incredible, when I think about how the world used to be." Collecting the mugs, Gwen stood from the table. "Well, that's it. I guess I'll fill you in mre later; your face says I may be on the fast track to overwhelming you." Cheshire nodded somewhat dumbly. "Yeah…I have a lot to digest." Gwen smiled again. "I imagine. Don't worry, I already have the Plumbers working on this kink. We'll have you back home soon…I hope." The last part was spoken in a whisper. Before Cheshire could comment on it Gwen had turned to the boys that were still engrossed in their game. "Okay! Time for a day on the town. Showers for everyone!" The children groaned and belly ached, whining something about the boss level and low XP. One glare from Gwen, however, sent them racing to the bathrooms Cheshire watched them disappear down the hall, sliding on the wood floor with the klutziness of children.

She cleared her throat clumsily as Gwen moved into the living room to tidy. "What about Nicky? Should he be…I don't know…" she hesitated, sensing the horribleness of her words. "Back in the Void?" Gwen shook her head adamantly. Obviously the question had be posed before. "The Null Void is a neutral universe. Beings from it don't occur in any other universe and those who are put within do not affect it. That was why it was chosen as a prison for intergalactic thugs. It would never reject them, and nor they it." She handed Cheshire the boys' plates like it was reflex.

"So…we're going out for a bit. It's just grocery shopping. Errands. You can stay here if you like. Collect yourself a bit, make yourself at home. I'll be back later to let you and Nicky into Nekane's apartment. I don't think she'll mind if you borrow a few clothes. Especially if you still want to keep up this illusion for Nicky." Cheshire shuddered to think what may have happened to Nicky's real mother by now…the look on his face if he was told he would have to wait even longer for her. "I guess…I guess I should. He's been through a lot…too much, maybe." Gwen didn't respond to the implied question. "Alright. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. Is there anything I can get you while we're out? Magazines, history books, chocolate?"

Cheshire glanced over her shoulder, where Nicky and Ken were heard rustling around and shouting to one another. She could still remember his soft hair on the tips of her fingers, his warm little body gently clinging to hers. The tears of fear on his face when he thought he'd lost his mother. He couldn't occur in any other universe because he had been born in the Void…but he had been_ conceived_ in an actual universe. Her home universe. Or one that was similar enough to hers to have birthed another young woman with her name, face, and, potentially, history. Because what would have happened if she hadn't been able to teleport herself to freedom?

She shuddered at the thought, lower belly clenching. For a moment she feared she would be ill.

"Yeah," she said slowly, joining Gwen at the sink. "A pregnancy test."


End file.
